Better hygiene for better business 

Maintaining high levels of hygiene should be top priority for all businesses – particularly those that host the public.

Keeping your staff and customers safe will always come first, but when buying hygiene products, issues such as sustainability and inclusivity may not be the first things that come to mind, but can form a huge part of a customer’s experience and likelihood to return to an establishment. Barriers such as stage of life, neuro-diversities and general hygiene concerns affect peoples’ experience of a washroom.

Inclusive washrooms are better for business

According to the 2024 Tork Insight Survey, which surveyed 1,000 guests to understand peoples’ perceived barriers to washrooms, 73%¹ of respondents conclude they feel unsafe if they can’t wash their hands. So it’s important that washrooms are easy to use and inclusive for all customers, this includes those facing barriers such as a skin condition, hygiene anxiety, physical disability or neuro diversity. Whether a customer faces these barriers or not, one bad washroom experience will impact their willingness to return.   
 
To the naked eye it may seem simple enough to put out soap and running water, so that any guest can clean their hands, but some guests have differing needs. For example, people with skin conditions may get flare ups from certain soaps, so businesses should be mindful to stack bathrooms with soaps that are friendly to all skin types. 
 
Just recently, Tork received the world’s first certification for meeting the Design for All standard²: an approach that aims to make hygiene in public spaces accessible for a majority of users.

Applying the Design for All principles to the Tork dispenser development process helps reduce barriers to hygiene for users with a range of conditions, capabilities, neuro-diversities, general hygiene concerns and in various stages of life. For example, the Tork PeakServe® range of hand towel dispensers were designed with low pull force, accommodating people with varying hand strength, such as children, and is certified as Easy to Use¹ by the Swedish Rheumatism Association.

Better hygiene, for everyone 

We are a world of individuals and not everyone has the same inclusivity needs or expectations on sustainability. That’s why in catering, it’s important to cater for everyone in every aspect of your business. By partnering with certified suppliers like Tork on aspects like hygiene, you don’t even need to think about it. You can focus on the parts of the service that you do best.

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¹ Data from the 2024 Tork Insights Survey of 6,000 individuals 18-65+ and 900 respondents representing businesses in the United States, Mexico, UK, Germany and France 
² Standard EN17161