When the household budget is tight, hygiene products can drop to the bottom of the priority list and many New Zealanders are having to go without.
As community aid organisations and food banks struggle to provide basic toiletries to people in need, the City Mission is launching a two-week donation drive - Soap for Society.
Lucy Revill and Bridget Child with hygiene products donated to the City Mission during a previous Soap for Society campaign. Photo: Tareq Branney
Not being able to afford products to keep yourself clean leads to a loss of dignity, says Lucy Revill, the founder and chair of Soap For Society.
Currently, the New Zealand government doesn't look at access to hygiene products as a measure of poverty.
It doesn't make sense to look at access to food, doctor's visits and dentist's visits as measures but not sanitation, Revill says.
"How can you brush your teeth and have good oral hygiene if you don't have access to toothbrushes? How can you stay healthy and avoid doctors visits when you get the flu when you can't wash your hands?"
"We're calling on the Government and the Ministry of Health to start measuring access to hygiene products so we can know what the real scale of the issue is in New Zealand."
If you're in Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland, the best way to help out yourself is to set up a cardboard box in your workplace that people can drop unopened toiletries into, and you then drop that into the City Mission.
Revill also suggests looking around your bathroom and laundry cupboards for unopened products. At the supermarket, you could chuck a couple of extra toothbrushes or packets of toilet paper into your trolley or even some makeup that could end up as a Christmas present for a teenager.
Donations of the following products will be especially appreciated:
- Shower gel
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Pads and tampons
- Period pants
- Deodorant
Facemasks, hand sanitiser, bladder control products, anti-lice shampoo, washing powder and surface cleaners are also in high demand, Revill says.
Soap for Society runs from 4 - 18 October. People in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland can drop off any unopened hygiene products to their local City Mission. Financial donations can be made via the Soap for Society website.
