Inclusive hygiene in public washrooms

Barriers to inclusive hygiene in public washrooms challenge people every day, some barriers are visible, others are not. Discover how removing these barriers can make your washrooms more hygienic and inclusive.

Hygiene barriers

Throughout our lives, many of us do at some point face barriers when washing our hands in public washrooms. These invisible hand hygiene barriers can affect people in multiple ways, but there are multiple solutions. The problem is, it’s only the people who face the barriers that are aware of them.

Age-related barriers

Our personal capabilities change with age, affecting mobility, reach and strength. In fact, around 1 in 5 adults experience difficulties using soap or hand towel dispensers due to an injury, health condition, physical capability or as a parent with a child.*

Child reaching for a paper hand towel in a washroom

Auditory sensitivity

Some people are more sensitive to loud noises than others, especially the neurodivergent or autistic, as well as young children. 1 in 7 adults cited loud noises as a source of difficulty personally or when assisting a child using public washrooms.*

People washing and drying their hands in a modern washroom

Hygiene concerns

Many people avoid visiting public toilets and washing their hands due to poor hygiene levels. And more than 1 in 3 cite lack of cleanliness as a barrier to using workplace or public washrooms.*

Skin sensitivities

Some soaps contain ingredients that can cause irritation. Globally 204 million people suffer from eczema** and may find that some hand soaps irritate their skin.

a young man holds a paper towel with handwritten text explaining why fragrant soap can make it hard to use public washrooms

Roundtable event

Exploring inclusive hygiene in public washrooms

We convene experts from civil society, government, academia and industry to discuss inclusive hygiene in public washrooms.

Paper towel plea – watch the film

Tork launched its global effort to advance inclusive hygiene in US March 2024 using printed paper towels as a medium through its “paper towel plea”. We placed the stories of people facing hand-hygiene barriers into the hands of those with the power to make a change, in the very place where these barriers occur. The washroom.

Take action to make hand hygiene more inclusive

Click on the hot spots to discover some simple, practical steps you can take to make hand hygiene in your washroom more inclusive.

"We applaud Tork for leading the charge on this important initiative and continuing to push for attention and improvement of the accessibility of hand washing in public and workplace washrooms."

Ron Clemmer, Secretariat Director, Global Handwashing Partnership

References

* US Survey among a nationally representative group, barriers faced personally or in assisting others, 2024

** British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 190, Issue 1, January 2024