Australian social enterprise Who Gives A Crap has featured in ‘Common Good’, a new branded content series presented by B Labs and produced by BBC Story Works Commercial Productions, highlighting its efforts in sanitation.
Who Gives A Crap showcases its commitment to tackling one of the world’s most urgent and often overlooked issues: the global sanitation crisis. With over 3 billion people without access to safely managed sanitation services, the brand has raised over AU$18 million to date, with the donations used to help build toilets and provide people with clean water.
The film focuses on Antonate Akinyi Ondewe, a sanitation supervisor at Fresh Life in Nairobi, Kenya, whose life has been directly shaped by the very issue the social enterprise is working to solve. Ondewe grew up without access to adequate sanitation. At just nine years old, she was responsible for emptying her family’s toilet bucket into open trenches, because there was no safe or dignified alternative.
One morning, while doing what necessity demanded, she was seen by town elders and punished. Forced to clean the trenches in public, she was left deeply humiliated. She hadn’t broken a rule -she’d been failed by a system that gave her no other choice.
Beyond bearing the shame for a failure that was never hers, Ondewe witnessed from a young age how the lack of proper sanitation devastated her community—especially children—contributing to outbreaks of cholera and other preventable diseases.
“If there’s one thing I promised myself when I was growing up is that no kid of mine is going to go through what I went through. Sanitation should not be a luxury. It should be a basic human right.” said Ondewe.
The organisation installs waterless, container-based toilets in informal settlements across Kenya, helping to ensure that children today do not endure what Ondewe once did. Her journey from hardship to working on the frontlines of sanitation shows how something as simple as toilet paper can have a life-changing impact.
“Many people can’t imagine how small changes in their daily lives, like the type of toilet paper they use, can create a positive, life altering impact for millions of people around the world,” said Danny Alexander, co-founder and chief of product and purpose, Who Gives A Crap.
Globally, over 1,000 children under five die every day from diarrhoeal diseases, often linked to unsafe water and sanitation. Who Gives A Crap donates 50 per cent of its profits to its impact partners to help give everyone in the world access to clean water and a toilet.
“Clean water and toilets can have a monumental impact on the quality of a person’s life,” said Robin Cho, head of impact, Who Gives A Crap. “Proper sanitation can unlock education, empower women, and improve the health of communities and the planet. This film shows what’s possible when purpose is embedded in the business model.”
The film aims to mobilise greater social impact in the toilet paper industry, highlighting how consumers can help drive meaningful change, one roll at a time.
Common Good is a 21 part series that highlights B Corp TM businesses balancing purpose and profit. It spans fourteen counties, exploring the real-world impact these companies are creating across industries and communities.
With nearly 10,000 certified B Corp TM companies globally, brands like Who Gives A Crap are leading the way in proving that business can—and should—be a force for good.
