'Children don't want to smile because they can't afford toothpaste,' says Telford charity
In Kind Direct says one in four UK families are living in hygiene poverty.
Last updated 4th Mar 2025
A Telford- and London-based charity claims children don't want to smile and are struggling with bullies because their families can't afford basic hygiene products like toothpaste.
In Kind Direct has launched a new campaign in UK super markets to tackle the 2.2 million families struggling to afford hygiene products this year.
It claims:
• 1 in 4 UK households with children are currently living in hygiene poverty and having to decide between eating, heating, or keeping clean every day.
• Hygiene poverty has a monumental impact on families, with children’s wellbeing at school being negatively affected.
• The charity is launching a major in-store campaign across the UK to support these families, with each partner manufacturer donating one product for every two selected products purchased in-store or online by Tesco shoppers until 1 April.
The latest data from charity In Kind Direct has revealed 1 in 4 UK households with children are living in hygiene poverty – that's 2.2m families that are left facing impossible decisions to eat, heat or keep clean every single day.
The impact of hygiene poverty for families is huge, with children’s wellbeing and experience at school being negatively affected. Of households with children who are going without, over 1 in 10 parents report their child being more anxious and avoiding socializing* with their friends as a result.
Marc Greene, the commercial director at the charity, said: "We've heard stories of kids not wanting to smile because they haven't got products to clean their teeth and you get things like bad breath and bullying.
"We get a lot of stories about people having to make their own period products."
"There's a lack of awareness of it hygiene poverty and what it is. There's a certain shame and stigma that come with it, but the actual impact, well, feelings of shame; affecting people's self-esteem; participating in society; not showing up to work or school."
Mr Greene said it is affecting more and more people: "It's full-time workers, it's two-income households, people with mortgages. And 60% of those in hygiene poverty are in employment."
To ensure families can access the products they need to keep clean and well, the charity is launching a major campaign with longstanding partners Tesco, Unilever, Essity, Haleon, Kimberly Clark, Edgewell and P&G to support more families who are having to go without.
The expansive supplier group involved in this initiative allows a breadth of products to be donated to people that are unable to access basic hygiene essentials like shower gel, toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry detergent, razors, period products and nappies.
Until 1 April, all six manufacturers will donate one product to In Kind Direct for every two selected products purchased in-store or online by Tesco shoppers. In Kind Direct will then distribute the donated products to their network of over 6,000 charitable organisations that are the frontline support for local communities and reach 500,000 people every week.