A nonprofit organization plans to collect unused soap from upscale Tokyo hotels and recycle it into bars for use in the developing world, and is currently seeking funds to buy the equipment it needs.
On Feb. 15, the Global Soap Project, a United States-based nonprofit organization, established its first foreign branch in Tokyo's Koto Ward and plans in March to begin recycling small amounts of soap in a trial focusing on India and Bangladesh.
A fundraising effort has so far missed its target, but the group eventually aims to be able to obtain the equipment it needs to supply bars to needy recipients across Asia, where the work could save up to 100,000 lives every year, says branch founder Nobumitsu Hayashi.