Savings in a lather

Dr John Hines, R&D director at Deb Group says independent research commissioned by Deb has shown that when using foam soap for hand washing, people use 16% less water than when using liquid soap. 'Water consumption can be reduced by up to 45% by adopting a foam soap hand washing technique of dispense, lather, tap on, rinse,' says Hines.

For every 100 staff, the use of foam soap for hand washing can equate to an annual water reduction of up to 56,000 litres.

As warm water is usually used there are also savings to be made in energy use and CO2 emissions.

Deb's experiments show foam soap is eight times more spreadable than lotion soap and reduces the quantity of product required. It is also more biodegradable as it does not require chemicals to thicken it - the lather is created by adding air.