Across the cleaning product supply chain, companies have increased production, adapted manufacturing lines, donated money and resources, and taken extra measures to protect their employees. Here is one such story from Procter & Gamble. See our full COVID-19 Impact Report for more.
Since 2005, Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) Tide Loads of Hope program has been providing free laundry services to communities affected by natural disaster. Over the years, the P&G team has learned that these aren’t the only times when people need help with clean clothes. Offering free laundry services during the COVID-19 pandemic was, as Moses Ogbonnaya, Chief Marketing Officer – Tide Cleaners, puts it, the least they could do for busy front-line responders and their families.
However, in the midst of the pandemic, Tide Loads of Hope’s normal method of deploying its laundry services via truck was no longer safe. Then Moses came up with an idea: What if they could mobilize Tide Cleaners storefronts across the nation to provide free laundry and dry cleaning?
He and his team talked about the idea for a week, then launched Tide Loads of Hope Powered by Tide Cleaners in three cities: Houston, Indianapolis and Phoenix. They weren’t sure how it was going to go, but decided to give it a try to see what impact it would have on the communities.
After launching in late March, they ramped up over the following three weeks to have Tide Loads of Hope available across almost 95 percent of stores and locker locations. They deployed so quickly because the front-line responders were so thankful for the service.
“Just to see the impact that we can make on one individual was worth it.”
Moses Ogbonnaya, Chief Marketing Officer – Tide Cleaners, Procter & Gamble
In three months, Tide Loads of Hope impacted twice as many people as in the last 15 years. What’s more, many locations that previously had to lay off their employees due to declining business were able to hire back their employees.
Across 179 stores and over 2,000 locker locations, Tide Cleaners provided free laundry and dry cleaning to over 100,000 front-line responders. For Moses, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It indicates what Tide Loads of Hope can do going forward, and he’s excited about how it can continue to make a positive impact on communities.
Across the cleaning product supply chain, companies have stepped up to protect communities from COVID-19.