As the coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL 0.26%) plans to manufacture and donate 25 million bars of soap to health organizations. The company is switching over five of its facilities, located on three different continents, to handle production of this special run of soap.
The special soap features a bright red wrapper with the World Health Organization (WHO) hashtag #SafeHands printed on the palm of a hand, intended to promote the organization's #SafeHands Challenge. Each bar of soap also comes with WHO instructions for thorough hand-washing. The company says it will donate the soap to global agencies related to health.
Image source: Getty Images.
Additionally, Colgate-Palmolive is donating approximately $20 million worth of various hygiene products to community organizations in the United States to fight COVID-19. The biggest donations will go to areas hit particularly hard by the novel coronavirus, such as New York City. The company plans to use local organization infrastructure to distribute the soap and other hygiene goods, meaning it will choose its partners from among those groups actually able to get the items to the places where they will do the most good.
Hospitals, non-profit organizations for the homeless, and healthcare personnel will all receive some of the supplies. Pets are also included in the plan, with pet food donations to animal shelters from Hill's Pet Nutrition.
Colgate-Palmolive, a dividend aristocrat, saw its stock soar immediately before the U.S. outbreak started in earnest. Its share value took a major plunge later in March, but has now almost bounced back to pre-coronavirus levels.
