Nearly one in five adults across the UK revealed their household had been forced to go without hygiene essentials such as toilet paper and deodorant, in survey findings charities have branded "a wake-up call".
Survey reveals scale of hygiene poverty
The most recent survey commissioned by charities The Hygiene Bank and In Kind Direct discovered 41% of respondents experiencing so-called hygiene poverty were encountering it for the first time this year. Hygiene poverty was characterised as being unable to purchase fundamental hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, nappies or washing-up liquid within the past six months.
Some 43% of those questioned admitted they had avoided meeting friends or relatives because they were unable to afford basic hygiene items or cleaning products over the previous six months.
Impact on families and individuals
The charities' report stated: "As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, more people are going without items we often take for granted, like soap, toilet rolls and deodorant."
They additionally cautioned that while younger adults, parents, renters and low-income households were all disproportionately impacted, the "new face of hygiene poverty includes working families and those on higher incomes who were once financially stable and now describe themselves as unexpectedly unable to afford essential hygiene products".
An online poll of 3,042 UK adults conducted by Savanta in early June revealed that of the 18% experiencing hygiene poverty, almost half were most likely to forgo purchasing toilet roll (47%), followed by deodorant (43%), shampoo (39%), laundry and cleaning products (38%), and toothpaste (34%). More than a quarter (28%) reported going without period products.
Charities call for action
Michael Gidney, chief executive of In Kind Direct, which distributes products to charitable organisations across its network, said the findings "should serve as a wake-up call".
He added: "In our 30 years' experience, we're seeing that hygiene poverty is no longer confined to the households you might expect. We know it disproportionately affects people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and renters, but we're now seeing it reach families who, until recently, considered themselves financially secure."
Ruth Brock, chief executive of The Hygiene Bank, which works to tackle the problem by delivering essential hygiene and personal care products to those in need, said: "This research confirms what our volunteers are seeing every day in communities across the UK: hygiene poverty is growing and is no longer a hidden or marginal issue."
She urged members of the public to donate hygiene products at one of the charity's drop-off points in Boots stores, or to lend a hand by signing up as a volunteer.
A Government spokesperson said: "We're determined to turn the tide on poverty, and our recent statistics show that effort is making a difference, with household incomes up 5% in real terms."
