Social entrepreneurs give a crap

By Kelly Jirsa

Who Gives A Crap toilet rolls. Image: au.whogivesacrap.org
Who Gives A Crap toilet rolls. Image: au.whogivesacrap.org
Not-for-profit Who Gives A Crap provides the developing world with sanitation via toilet paper sales.

Simon Griffiths is a Social Entrepreneur from Melbourne, he is the founder and co-founder of two not-for-profit enterprises: Shebeen, a Melbourne bar selling beer from developing countries with all profits going back to the communities where the beer comes from.

The second, larger and growing enterprise is Who Gives A Crap, a toilet paper production and supply company that not only uses cool designs in their packaging and recycled material, but the profits go toward building toilets in the developing world.

The toilet rolls, that come packaged in geometric and crafty bright coloured patterns, are their flagship product available now across Australia.

50 per cent of the profits from the sale of the toilet paper go to the organisation WaterAid, whose expertise is in implementing high impact sanitation projects.

2.5 billion people (roughly 40% of the world’s population) don’t have access to a toilet. Unfortunately that’s not very funny. Poor sanitation causes diarrhoea related diseases that fill over half of sub-Saharan African hospital beds and kill 1,400 children under 5 every day.

Who Gives A Crap

Since starting, Who Gives A Crap has funded “a year’s worth of toilet access to almost 70,000 people“.

Simon, with business partners Jehan and Danny launched Who Gives A Crap with a crowdfunding campaign in 2012. To get the initial funding Simon rallied support by sitting on a toilet for 50 hours straight in a cold warehouse, live-streamed on the internet. They delivered their first lot of toilet paper in March 2013 and have been rolling along at a fast pace ever since branching out from local Metropolitan sales in Melbourne to across the state, country and now into more recycled paper products like tissues and paper towels.

 

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