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Survey: 18% of UK adults report household went without hygiene products

A Savanta poll for The Hygiene Bank and In Kind Direct found 18% of UK adults said their household had gone without hygiene items in the past six months. The charities called it a wake-up call; the government pointed to rising incomes and a £1bn fund.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Mirror
Image: Evening Standard

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2A survey for the charities The Hygiene Bank and In Kind Direct found that nearly a fifth of UK adults said their household had gone without hygiene products such as toilet roll and deodorant. Left · 1Savanta ran the online poll of 3,042 UK adults in early June. It found 18% were in hygiene poverty in the previous six months. Centre · 1The report defined hygiene poverty as being unable to afford basic hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, nappies or washing-up liquid.

Mixed · 2Among those in hygiene poverty, 47% were most likely to skip buying toilet roll. Deodorant followed at 43%, shampoo at 39%, laundry and cleaning products at 38% and toothpaste at 34%, and 28% reported going without period products. Mixed · 2The Mirror reports that 43% of adults in hygiene poverty avoided friends or family because they could not afford basic hygiene items. The Standard words this as 43% of those polled and adds that it covers cleaning products and the past six months. Centre · 1Of respondents in hygiene poverty, 41% were affected for the first time this year.

Mixed · 2The charities said younger adults, parents, renters and low-income households were disproportionately affected. They also said the "new face" of hygiene poverty includes working families and people on higher incomes who were once financially stable. Mixed · 2Michael Gidney, chief executive of In Kind Direct, said the findings should be a wake-up call. He said that in 30 years' experience hygiene poverty is no longer confined to the households people might expect, and gave the example of a family with two full-time incomes who are in overdraft and struggling. Centre · 1Ruth Brock, chief executive of The Hygiene Bank, said hygiene poverty is "wrecking lives today and damaging life chances and opportunities for tomorrow". In the Standard she also said it is growing and is no longer a hidden or marginal issue, and urged people to donate at drop-off points in Boots stores or volunteer.

Left · 1The Mirror ties the story to National Hygiene Week, organised by The Hygiene Bank to raise awareness. It describes a manager at St Vincent's in Bradford packing hygiene products ahead of the week. Mixed · 2A government spokesperson said ministers are "determined to turn the tide on poverty" and that household incomes are up 5% in real terms. The Standard adds that the spokesperson cited a £1 billion Crisis and Resilience Fund for councils, a higher National Minimum Wage and suspended tariffs on everyday staples.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Leads on the social cost and the cost-of-living crisis: hygiene poverty makes people avoid friends and family.
Emphasis
Social isolation, National Hygiene Week and a Bradford charity scene. It gives the government a one-line response.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits the government's £1bn Crisis and Resilience Fund, minimum wage and tariff measures, and Ruth Brock's call to donate.
Charged language
“wake-up call”“wrecking lives”
For example
“Nearly a fifth of families have gone without hygiene products due to the cost-of-living crisis.” — Daily Mirror

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Leads on the survey's headline numbers, with toilet roll as the most-skipped item, and sets out the definition and methodology.
Emphasis
Definition of hygiene poverty, fuller charity quotes, how to donate, and the government's list of policy measures.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits National Hygiene Week and the Bradford example.
Charged language
“so-called hygiene poverty”“wake-up call”
For example
“Hygiene poverty was defined as being unable to afford basic hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, nappies or washing-up liquid.” — Evening Standard

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.