Eco-Soap Bank
Eco-Soap Bank is a Pittsburgh-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that upcycles surplus manufacturer soap into hospital-grade bars, distributed to NGOs across 42 countries through four production hubs in Tanzania, Cambodia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone employing 175 women.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Eco-Soap Bank does
Eco-Soap Bank is a Pittsburgh-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 by Samir Lakhani. Its core operation is the upcycling of surplus and offcut soap from hotel and manufacturer partners into hospital-grade bars, distributed at up to 60% below retail cost to NGOs and relief organizations across 42 countries. Production runs through four women-operated hubs in Arusha (Tanzania, 4.1M bars/year, 106 staff), Siem Reap (Cambodia, 3.4M bars/year, 38 staff), Kathmandu (Nepal, 2.2M bars/year, 24 staff), and Freetown (Sierra Leone, 1.8M bars/year, 19 staff), employing 175 women on fair wages with full benefits. Core technology is a four-step process—recover offcuts from manufacturers, shred and sanitize through batch-testing to remove contamination, reform into uniform bars under a single consistent recipe, and seal/lot-number for distribution—with traceability back to each production batch.
The product portfolio centers on the Classic Bar (100g cleansing bar), SOAPLAY (shaped children's soap validated in Tanzania and South Africa trials to increase handwashing adherence up to 24x), and Institutional Case (bulk palletized format for clinics, refugee camps, and school WASH programs), supplemented by Soap-on-a-Rope, customizable Hygiene Promotion Packaging, and Regular Bars. Supporting programs include the Micro-Enterprise Initiative (women entrepreneurs in Uganda reselling soap at cost) and #ScrapPack (craft soapmaker membership community contributing soap scraps and $10–$30/month fees).
Revenue mechanics blend three streams: donations from individuals and foundations, subsidized cost-plus soap sales to humanitarian NGOs (World Food Programme, UNHCR, Oxfam, Save the Children, WaterAid, IFRC, Soapbox, and others), and #ScrapPack recurring memberships. Funding to date includes a USD 50,000 Lead2030 Challenge grant from Reckitt in 2022, which evolved into an embedded supply-chain relationship. The organization carries Charity Navigator four-star, Candid Platinum, and BBB Accredited Charity credentials, and operates with an 11.5M-bar/year combined hub capacity.
Eco-Soap Bank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Eco-Soap Bank
- Legal name
- Eco-Soap Bank, Inc.
- Website
- https://ecosoapbank.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Eco-Soap Bank is a Pittsburgh-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that upcycles surplus manufacturer soap into hospital-grade bars, distributed to NGOs across 42 countries through four production hubs in Tanzania, Cambodia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone employing 175 women.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Eco-Soap Bank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recycled Hygiene Products
- NAICS
- Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing (325611)
- SIC
- Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Solutions (BPAGALAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI), Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) (BPAGABAC), Recycled Tissue & Hygiene Products (IMAMAKAF), Industrial Laundry & Textile Waste Services (Non-hazardous) (EUAIAGAI), Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Emergency Services (BPAGAAAE)
Keywords
Where Eco-Soap Bank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Eco-Soap Bank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual donors, foundations, and corporate giving provide operational funding. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 47-1734078). Four-star rated by Charity Navigator with Platinum transparency seal from Candid.
- Soap Sales to NGOs at Cost: Recycled soap sold to humanitarian and social service organizations at subsidized cost that includes fair-wage employment for female soapmakers and door-to-door delivery. Not available for retail sale.
- #ScrapPack Monthly Memberships: Monthly subscription tiers ($10-$30/month) for craft soapmakers who donate soap scraps. Membership includes financial donation plus scrap shipment, with benefits like Zero Waste Seal, impact reports, and social media recognition.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Up to 60% below retail pricing for bulk NGO orders |
| Subscription | Monthly | Heart tier: $10/month - provides soap and hygiene education to 50 people monthly |
| Subscription | Monthly | Butterfly tier: $20/month - provides soap and hygiene education to 100 people monthly |
| Subscription | Monthly | Star tier: $30/month - provides soap and hygiene education to 150 people monthly |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Eco-Soap Bank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Eco-Soap Bank recovers surplus and off-cut soap from manufacturers and hotels, shreds, sanitizes, and batch-tests the material, then reformulates it into hospital-grade bars at four women-operated production hubs (Cambodia, Tanzania, Nepal, Sierra Leone). The recycled soap is sold to NGOs and relief organizations at cost in bulk, palletized, lot-numbered cases for WASH, refugee, clinic, and school programs across 42 countries, including proprietary SOAPLAY shaped bars designed to drive child handwashing.
Product overview
Eco-Soap Bank is a nonprofit organization that operates a multi-product hygiene product line built on upcycling discarded soap from manufacturers into life-saving products. The core product portfolio includes the Classic Bar (100g standard cleansing bar), SOAPLAY (shaped children's soap designed as a behavioral nudge for handwashing), and the Institutional Case (bulk-packed format for clinics, camps, and schools). Additional offerings include Soap on a Rope, Hygiene Promotion Packaging with customizable branding, and Regular Bars with custom sizing. The organization operates four production hubs in Tanzania, Cambodia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone that employ 175 women to process and manufacture soap. Distribution services reach 42 countries through NGO partnerships. Supporting programs include the Micro-Enterprise Initiative for women entrepreneurs and the #ScrapPack membership for soapmakers who donate scraps. The company also publishes research studies on handwashing behavior, economic empowerment, and environmental impact.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SOAPLAY: A playful kids' bar made in fun shapes designed as an environmental 'nudge' to encourage handwashing habits among children. Backed by research conducted in Tanzania and South Africa.
Products and services
- Classic Bar 100g upcycled cleansing bar, the most ordered product by NGO partners. A clean, unscented bar pressed to one consistent recipe, sealed for distribution, and batch-tested for quality. Sold to humanitarian NGOs at cost for relief, clinic, refugee, and school WASH programs.
- SOAPLAY Shaped, playful bar soap designed as an environmental cue (nudge) to encourage handwashing among children, built on behavioral research and tested across Tanzania and South Africa. Features fun shapes and colors to make handwashing engaging for children.
- Institutional Case Bulk-packed soap cases sized for clinics, refugee camps, and school WASH programs. Palletized, lot-numbered, and ready to ship, often from a regional hub for cost-efficient delivery.
- Soap on a Rope Recycled soap bar with rope attachment for easy securing to handwashing stations. Designed to be longer lasting than standard bars in relief and field deployments.
- Hygiene Promotion Packaging Customizable packaging option featuring biodegradable materials, hygiene education messaging, and branding options for NGO partners running handwashing and WASH campaigns.
- Regular Bar Standard recycled soap bar made from high-quality materials recovered from global manufacturers. Available with custom sizing and custom packaging for partner-specific distribution.
- Micro-Enterprise Initiative Program offering marginalized women in low-income countries the opportunity to become recycled-soap selling entrepreneurs, creating economic empowerment and improving access to affordable soap in hard-to-reach communities.
- #ScrapPack Membership Tiered monthly donation program for craft soapmakers and hobbyists. Members send soap scraps and contribute financially each month. Tiers include Heart ($10/mo), Butterfly ($20/mo), and Star ($30/mo) with benefits including the #ScrapPack Zero Waste Seal, impact reports, logo placement, social media recognition, and personalized annual impact video.
- SOAPLAY Research Studies Field research on SOAPLAY effectiveness including household and school pilot studies in Tanzania and South Africa, and a full-scale test with 16,000 children in partnership with World Vision, generating evidence on handwashing behavior change and health outcomes.
Quantifiable outcome
- Children given SOAPLAY were 24x more likely to wash hands with soap at endline vs baseline (95% CI [20.4, 29.1])
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Eco-Soap Bank
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Eco-Soap Bank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Eco-Soap Bank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.
- Pauline Juliet (Uganda)majorLocal grassroots organization in Uganda recruited, trained, and monitored 45 female soap sellers for the micro-enterprise pilot program in Kiboga province. Women purchase soap at cost from Eco-Soap Bank and resell in rural communities.
- AFRIpadsminorUgandan-based social enterprise manufacturing reusable sanitary pads. Guest blog collaboration on localization and partnership advice for humanitarian procurement. Both organizations advocate for local social enterprise manufacturing in WASH and menstrual health sectors.
- World VisionmajorPartnership for SOAPLAY research study. Full-scale test conducted in 18 primary schools across Dabalo and Mpwayungu provinces in Tanzania, including 16,000 children. World Vision supported hygiene intervention delivery.
- Reckitt (Lead2030 Challenge)coreEco-Soap Bank won the Lead2030 Challenge for SDG6 (Water and Sanitation), receiving USD 50,000 and 12 months mentorship from Reckitt executives. Partnership evolved to integrate Eco-Soap Bank operations within Reckitt's global supply chain to transition them into zero-bar-soap-waste manufacturers. Eco-Soap Bank has helped Reckitt collect 50 tonnes of soap byproducts, created 25 women jobs, and recycled 500,000+ bars for Reckitt's Dettol Hygiene Quest programme.
- Soapboxcore10-year partnership distributing over 22 million bars of soap to communities in need across 21 countries. Soapbox donates products and supports hygiene distribution programs. Joint commitment to improving hygiene access and healthier futures.
- Global LinksmajorGlobal Links purchases bar soap from Eco-Soap Bank for their Personal Care Kits Initiative, donating 10,000+ kits annually through local food pantries. Partnership aligns Global Links' reuse mission with Eco-Soap Bank's soap recycling and women's employment focus.
- Soap Manufacturers (Hotel and Factory Partners)coreHotels and soap factories donate offcuts, returns, and surplus soap that would otherwise reach landfill. Eco-Soap Bank intercepts this waste before disposal, processing it into new bars. Partners include large FMCG companies and artisan soapmakers.
- OxfammajorInternational confederation of NGOs ordering Eco-Soap Bank products for WASH programs in relief settings.
- WaterAidmajorInternational water and sanitation organization distributing Eco-Soap Bank products in hygiene programs.
- UNHCRmajorUN Refugee Agency ordering soap for refugee camp hygiene supplies.
- Save the ChildrenmajorChild-focused NGO ordering soap for school-based hygiene programs.
- Catholic Relief ServicesmajorInternational Catholic development organization ordering soap for community development programs.
- World Food ProgrammemajorUN agency ordering soap for emergency relief and development programs.
- IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross)majorHumanitarian network ordering soap for disaster response and health programs.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Eco-Soap Bank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WaterAid: International WASH nonprofit that is both a customer and a peer in hygiene-program delivery; operates overlapping programs in many of the same countries as Eco-Soap Bank.
- Soapbox: Buy-one-give-one style soap company that donates a bar to communities in need for every product sold; 10-year partner of Eco-Soap Bank with overlapping donor base and parallel distribution to NGOs.
- Clean the World: Nonprofit that recycles and distributes partially used hotel soap globally, the closest operational analogue to Eco-Soap Bank. Competes in the same NGO/humanitarian supply channel and uses a similar upcycling-plus-distribution model.
- Splash (social enterprise): WASH-focused social enterprise operating handwashing programs in developing countries; comparable in mission (child hygiene behavior change) and target beneficiaries (schools, low-income communities).
Broad incumbents
- World Vision: Large humanitarian NGO that commissioned Eco-Soap Bank's 16,000-child SOAPLAY study in Tanzania; comparable as a WASH program implementer and as a buyer of recycled soap for school-based hygiene work.
- Dr. Bronner's: Large soap/cleaning company with deep social-mission commitments (regenerative organic, fair trade, donations to humanitarian causes); comparable as a values-led soap brand with philanthropy woven into the operating model.
- Procter & Gamble (P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water / Safeguard): Global FMCG with both a children's drinking water initiative and the Safeguard soap brand used in school handwashing programs; comparable as a potential surplus-donor partner and a peer in hygiene-product distribution at scale.
- Unilever (Lifebuoy): Global FMCG giant whose Lifebuoy brand runs handwashing behavior-change programs in developing markets; relevant as both a potential donor-partner for soap surpluses and a competitor in child handwashing programs.
Emerging players
- Sundara (recycled hotel soap): India-based social enterprise that recycles hotel soap for distribution to communities; comparable as a regional upcycler with similar hotel-surplus feedstock and WASH mission.
- Real Relief: Danish-based provider of humanitarian WASH products including soap; comparable as a mission-driven supplier selling hygiene goods at cost/subsidized pricing to NGOs and UN agencies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Eco-Soap Bank social profiles
Digital presenceEco-Soap Bank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Eco-Soap Bank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Eco-Soap Bank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Eco-Soap Bank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Eco-Soap Bank
What does Eco-Soap Bank do?
Eco-Soap Bank recovers surplus and off-cut soap from manufacturers and hotels, shreds, sanitizes, and batch-tests the material, then reformulates it into hospital-grade bars at four women-operated production hubs (Cambodia, Tanzania, Nepal, Sierra Leone). The recycled soap is sold to NGOs and relief organizations at cost in bulk, palletized, lot-numbered cases for WASH, refugee, clinic, and school programs across 42 countries, including proprietary SOAPLAY shaped bars designed to drive child handwashing.
Is Eco-Soap Bank a public or private company?
Eco-Soap Bank is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Eco-Soap Bank founded?
Eco-Soap Bank was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Eco-Soap Bank based?
Eco-Soap Bank is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does Eco-Soap Bank make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are soap Sales to NGOs at Cost and #ScrapPack Monthly Memberships.
Who are Eco-Soap Bank's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WaterAid, Soapbox, Clean the World and Splash (social enterprise). Broad incumbents are World Vision, Dr. Bronner's, Procter & Gamble (P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water / Safeguard) and Unilever (Lifebuoy). Emerging players are Sundara (recycled hotel soap) and Real Relief.
Does Eco-Soap Bank have an API?
No public API is recorded for Eco-Soap Bank.
What industry is Eco-Soap Bank in?
Eco-Soap Bank's product category is Recycled Hygiene Products. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAI, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Solutions, with a secondary code of HLAJAKAI, WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations. Its NAICS code is 325611 and its SIC code is 2840.