The World Health Organization advises that washing your hands frequently and for no less than 30 seconds at a time is one of the best ways to prevent catching COVID-19. However, health authorities found that people fail to wash their hands effectively 97% of the time, leaving them unwittingly at risk of infection.
Lush has taken the guesswork out of how long 30 seconds is by creating a simple solution. The “30-Second Soap” is a self-timing soap designed to dissolve away after 30 seconds of vigorous use, precisely how long you need to make your hands clean and safe.
Making the soap, and finding the perfect formulation and size was a surprisingly tricky process. It took the team five weeks and 115 tests to get the perfect self-timing bar with 100% recycled packaging.
Working closely with Deliveroo, the UAE’s largest fleet of delivery drivers, Lush will distribute 30-Second Soap for free across Dubai, while also making it available via their website.
“Throughout the Covid-19 epidemic we’ve constantly sought out ways to keep both our staff and partners educated as to how they may keep themselves as safe as possible,” said George Schempers, Head of Marketing at Deliveroo. “While a lot of our efforts have gone into ensuring that our partners and delivery drivers take every precaution when handling our customers’ food, the most important food handlers are the people destined to eat it.”
Miche Whitehouse, Integrated Marketing Communications Manager at Lush MENA, said “Soap and water can save lives. Every day—by simply washing their hands properly—people can prevent the spread of infections. When ‿ and us approached us to help them create a soap that only lasts for 30 seconds, we loved the idea but weren’t sure if creating a soap like that was even possible. But after multiple trials with a variety of shapes, sizes and compositions we finally got it just right. A fresh, handmade 30-second soap.”
Fadi Yaish, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of ‿ and us, said, “We’ve all heard how you’re supposed to wash your hands for at least 30 seconds but in practice that’s a lot more difficult to do than it sounds. Most people just assume that means they need to wash their hands for a little longer than usual, but ‘usual’ for most people generally means five seconds or less. With the 30-Second Soap, Lush and Deliveroo give their customers a one-off demonstration of how long 30 seconds actually feels like in practice, hopefully influencing their hand cleansing rituals in the future.”
