Tesco’s partnership with the product giving charity In Kind Direct has handed out more than six million hygiene products to families in need since it launched four years ago.

The link up sees the supermarket run an annual ‘buy 2, we’ll donate 1’ campaign. This ran for the sixth time this spring and saw 1.3m personal care and household hygiene products handed out across eight weeks, including deodorants, period pads and toothbrushes.

This year’s campaign involved seventeen hygiene brands including Pampers, Andrex, Kleenex, Tena, Bodyform, Simple, Aquafresh, Sensodyne, Domestos, Sure, Dove, Surf, Wilkinson-Sword, Persil, Corsodyl, Vaseline, and Comfort.

Participating suppliers included Unilever, Haleon, Essity, Arbex, Edgewell and P&G.

“We’re proud of the impact that this campaign has had helping millions of families across the UK access hygiene products, said the supermarket’s beauty and personal care category buying manager Tommy Maier.

“We would like to thank all our customers, colleagues and the brands that supported this worthwhile cause and helped make a real difference to those in need.”

In Kind Director chief executive Michael Gidney added: “Distributing more than 6m essential products to date is a huge achievement, but across the UK we hear from people in our network about what it means every day.

“It’s the dignity offered to the woman who had been using socks in place of period products; the excitement on the six-year-old boy’s face who had his own toothbrush for the first time; the way homeless service users describe how it feels to access personal care products.

“And the impact won’t stop there. We are seeing more and more brands willing to come together to help end hygiene poverty - a cause that is much bigger than all of us.

“No single charity or brand can solve this alone. It required true cross-collaboration from charities, retailers and brands who are committed to making a difference in people’s lives.”

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