Happy Handwashing Day!

At Rocky, we love washing our hands and we love it when others wash their hands too. We love it so much that we installed sinks in all our stores just so that people can wash their hands for free while roaming the malls or streets (and so they can play with lots of other fun products too, not just soap).

So you can imagine our glee upon learning that the art and practice of hand-washing now has its own day! Say what? Oh yeah. Hand-washing is such an important thing to do that a bunch of public and private international stakeholders got together to promote it. Check out Globalhandwashing.org

Handwashing doesn't just feel good and smell nice. This simple ritual which we perform multiple times a day is a super-power disguised as a humble act. Here's how handwashing helps the world:

• It rids the skin of bacteria, viruses and parasites
• It stops the spread of disease
• It makes handled food safe for consumption
• It can prevent acne (don't touch your face with dirty hands by the way)
• It feels good and smells nice :)

So how can you promote handwashing in your community? Easy. Share this article. Share the Global-Handwashing website. Teach your kids to wash their hands often and thoroughly. By the way, handwashing can be done poorly and it can be done well. Use our handy Guide to Handwashing to hone your technique.

A note on antibacterial soap versus non-antibacterial soap: Studies have shown that washing your hands with good old-fashioned soap the way your grandparents would have made it (which is to say...like ours) is just as effective at cleaning the skin and removing pathogens as soap that has synthetic antibacterial agents in it.

Post Script on Triclosan Of particular note, we highly recommend steering clear of soaps that have triclosan in them. This is an extremely powerful antibacterial agent that is unfortunately still used in a lot of products, not just soap. Triclosan has been shown to persist in the environment, be harmful to aquatic organisms, and may contribute to the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To learn more about it, check out David Suzuki's page here.