A little more than a month ago I featured the organization Clean the World in this column (see article). Clean the World is an Orlando, Fla.-based organization that focuses on the collection and distribution of unused soap portions and shampoo for the purpose of distributing them to those in need. The organization was started by Shawn Seipler and Paul Till, two gentlemen who wondered what happens to all of the unused soap and shampoo left at lodging establishments around the United States.
I spoke with Shawn this week as a follow-up to our original conversation. He told me that response to the first column about Clean the World was “tremendous” and “overwhelming.” I am not patting myself on the back here. What I am saying is that many of you who read this column took action and contacted Clean the World to see how you can participate with soap and shampoo donations. Thank you for taking that step! Shawn said he heard from 40 hotels outside of Florida, including ones in Australia, Spain, and France. These are in addition to the almost 100 hotels in the Orlando area that are participating. Since my June 12 column, Shawn has had meetings with some of our industry’s largest companies about Clean the World.
Shawn wanted me to tell you that Clean the World has expanded beyond Orlando and rolled out a national program. The organization already has created 10 jobs in the Orlando area. Shawn emphasized that unused soap and shampoo has value, meaning that their donation can result in a tax deduction—in addition to reduced costs from not having to throw the items away.
More Than a Ton of Soap Reaches Haiti
The most exciting news from Shawn? On July 7, Clean the World made its first major international shipment with the help of William Lowry, executive director of Central Care Mission (click here for YouTube video). More than 21,000 bars of soap (more than a ton) was delivered to residents of Cap Haitien, Haiti. “The response was incredible,” Shawn said. “It was obvious that we did not bring enough. The people begged us to come back to deliver more. During a large gathering of more than 10,000 Haitiens, more than 20 people identified themselves as having children that died because of diarrheal illness—preventable by simple hand washing with soap.”
Be sure to visit Green Lodging News for additional updates on Clean the World’s progress. If you have not yet contacted the organization about unused soap and shampoo donations, go to www.cleantheworld.org or contact Shawn Seipler at (407) 574-8353 and sseipler@cleantheworld.org, or Oscar Gonzalez at (407) 404-0423 and ogonzalez@cleantheworld.org.
Green Lodging News Adds ClearWater Tech Case Study to Website
Green Lodging News has added a ClearWater Tech, LLC case study to the Green Lodging News website. The case study details the positive impact of the installation of an ozone laundry system at the Apple Farm Inn and Suites in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The case study documents the savings the ozone system generated in numerous charts and graphs. The payback time on the system was just 7.7 months, with more than $22,000 in annual labor savings. Overall, the ozone laundry system has saved the Apple Farm Inn and Suites nearly 40 percent of the annual costs related to the washing of linens in their laundry facility.
Click here to read the case study. You may also contact Marc DeBrum at ClearWater Tech. He can be reached at (800) 262-0203 or by e-mail at mdebrum@cwtozone.com. You can also go to the website at www.ecotexlaundry.com.
Green Lodging News Welcomes PestWest as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes PestWest LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. PestWest is currently offering its Vapor Vacuum Lamp Compacter for the disposal of fluorescent lighting. The Compacter contains used lamps in a secure container, while at the same time removing the hazardous mercury via a specially designed filter system. PestWest also offers professional insect light trap systems and other flying insect management products. For more information, call (941) 358-1983, e-mail info@pestwest.com, or go to www.pestwest.com.
Green Lodging News Advertising
Green Lodging News ad spots are selling fast. Be sure to call me at (440) 243-2055 to discuss your advertising plans for the remainder of 2009. A 2009 media kit is now available by request or by clicking here. A 2010 kit will be available soon. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Green Lodging News Blog & Twitter
Be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. The address for the blog is http://greenlodgingnews.blogspot.com. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also now on Twitter. To follow my postings, go to http://twitter.com/greenlodging. Be sure to add Green Lodging News to those tweets that you follow. Green Lodging News now has 189 Twitter followers.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
