Hygiene poverty is the hidden cost-of-living trap. Why we must remove VAT on essentials to address it

Andy Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as prime minister to promise to put Britain on a new path of equitable growth, standing in front of a backdrop of the party’s ‘hope again’ slogan. He offered the country an “honest conversation” about the trade-offs involved in tackling some of its deepest problems.

Since July, the prime minister has sought to give voters some “breathing space” from cost-of-living pressures. But for millions of households there is no breathing space left.

In Kind Direct‘s latest research shows an estimated 9.6 million people have gone without toiletries, hygiene or cleaning products in the past six months because they couldn’t afford them.

That’s nearly one in five of us across the country and 41% of those are experiencing hygiene poverty for the first time – this is a problem increasingly faced by people who were previously more financially secure.

Hygiene poverty has become mainstream; this is no longer just a problem for people who were already struggling. It is reaching households that, until recently, thought of themselves as getting by.

It’s tempting to treat this as an accessibility problem: more product donations, more drop-off points, more stock on the shelves of community centres.

That work matters, and it’s what In Kind Direct does every single week. Through our network of more than 9,000 charitable organisations, we reach nearly a million people every week with the essentials they need. We’re proud of that – but we know this is not the long-term solution people need.

Hygiene poverty isn’t about saying, “Here’s a 20p bar of soap.” It’s a symptom of something much bigger. For a family in overdraft, that 20p is still money they simply don’t have. The cost-of-living crisis is pushing more people to the financial brink. And once you’re borrowing to cover the basics, every extra payment makes next month harder.

When working families, some with two full-time incomes, face huge increases in energy bills, rents and mortgages, too many people are forced to choose between deodorant and dinner. In that situation the problem isn’t access to cheap soap.

The problem is that wages have stopped keeping pace with the cost of living.

Hygiene poverty is an early warning sign. It’s the first visible crack when income no longer covers the basics. When money is tight, basic essentials like toothpaste, shampoo, and toilet paper are among the first things to go, quietly, before cupboards run bare and bills go unpaid.

We know from our research that those experiencing hygiene poverty feel their confidence is hugely impacted, setting up a vicious cycle that keeps children out of school, and adults out of work. Nearly one in five people affected (18%) have missed work because of hygiene poverty, and 15% have skipped a job interview. A problem that starts with too little income ends up costing people the very work that could lift them out of it.

Hygiene poverty is a trap, and it’s one that will undermine any government’s ambitions for growth, employment and opportunity, if it goes unaddressed. We all have a role to play in addressing the broken system that is causing hygiene poverty, yet we need government urgently to address the symptoms.

Read more:

• Over a million kids live in hygiene poverty. But teachers don’t always know what to say
• ‘I begged food bank workers for body wash for my children’: The bleak reality of hygiene poverty in the UK
• Young woman says she ‘unravelled’ when cost of living meant she couldn’t keep herself clean

What the government must do

If the prime minister is serious about a new path for Britain, he needs to treat hygiene poverty as the early warning it is. We should recognise that income is the problem and the current climate and pressures on society are pushing more people into hygiene poverty. These are deep systematic issues that need to be addressed, but we need urgent action to respond to the crisis right now.

First, government must recognise that access to hygiene products as a category in assessing material poverty. Being able to keep yourself and your home clean is part of an adequate standard of living, and the way we define and measure material poverty should reflect that.

Government should end VAT on essential hygiene products. That means reviewing how these products are currently taxed and removing VAT wherever they’re essential to maintaining health, dignity and wellbeing.

Reviewing regulations governing the shelf life and disposal of hygiene products, will also go a long way. Current regulations and guidance around how long certain products remain suitable for use or sale can result in large quantities of usable products being diverted to waste.

Nobody should have to choose between eating, heating and keeping clean. Being able to wash yourself, wear clean clothes and walk into a job interview with your head held high isn’t a luxury. It’s everyday basics, toiletries and cleaning products included, and not just food and fuel.

The prime minister has asked Britain to hope again. For 9.6 million people, hope starts with dignity, and dignity starts with access to life’s essentials.

Michael Gidney is CEO of In Kind Direct. Find out more here.

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