For many Australians, access to basic and dignified sanitation has always been an accessible and affordable option.
While we may be fighting that roll in a store when an pandemic strikes, there are about 2.4 billion people worldwide who do not have access to a toilet.
40 percent of the world’s poor sanitation is leading to 700 children under the age of five dying every day from diarrhoea diseases.
The numbers indicate that there are more people with a mobile phone than they do with basic toilet needs.
Idea Behind ‘Who Gives A Crap’
These “mindboggling” figures did not include Who Gives A Crap co-founder and CEO Simon Griffiths who had a sudden “second quarter of epiphany” on the way to loo about a decade ago.
He had an idea to start a toilet roll business that provides benefits to communities in need after seeing a package of loo rolls in the corner of his eye.
Simon quickly invited a few friends to share his opinion and made them wonder why no one had ever come up with this before.
A few years later in 2012, Simon and one of his friends founded the Who Gray Crap and raised money to further the vision.
Simon, who came from humble beginnings, did not receive financial support to get the business off the ground and relied on a vigilant campaign to get the required capital.
The Viral Hour
Simon was sitting on the toilet in their magnificent last house and refused to move until they had issued enough pre-orders to begin production.
It took 50 hours but the fundraiser had raised more than $ 50,000 – a promotion and video spread of 2.5 million contributions on social media.
“I was sitting on the toilet until we had saved money. That sent us viral. We have been mentioned 2.5 million times on social media platforms in 50 hours. It was a wonderful way to start, ”said Simon.
Who Gives Crap has been growing tremendously ever since, on the basis of loyal customers who believe in the profession as Simon and his team of 100.
“Every year since we started we have doubled or tripled in size,” Simon told news.com.au. “This year was no different.”
Growth In Business
Business has doubled in this financial year compared to the previous financial year – and the epidemic of the epidemic certainly had its share.
The takeover in March 2020 has almost been moved compared to the same period last year.
“Who gives Crap made more than a month to sell in Australia in the first three days of March,” Simon said.
“On the first day of March we doubled our sales, five times, and 12 times.
“We ran out of stock in Australia at 8am on March 4.”
Simon said they saw “crazy numbers” in the sale of toilet paper.
“On that fourth day, we didn’t have enough inventory,” he said. “We were selling 28 rolls of toilet paper every second.”
The customer base grew exponentially during the epidemic, with almost three times the number of people subscribing to the distribution list in May 2020 compared to last year.
“We put a waiting list on our website and ended up with half a million people,” explains Simon.
More than 600 000 people on the Secret To Toilet Paper Club will be notified when more toilet paper arrives.
Meanwhile, Who Gives A Crap Team worked hard to get more stock at the door and had to hire and train 24 freelancers a week.
“We started spreading in those early days in March because people were posting pictures online of empty shelves and saying people should buy from Who Gives Crap,” he said.
How Is The Profit Used?
The bulk of Who Gives a Crap’s sales come from online, but the loo rolls are also stocked in independent grocers in Victoria and NSW including Harris Farm.
While Simon said they are open to distribution to large retailers, he said “we can have strong relationships with our customers online”.
Who Gives Crap contributes 50 percent of all profits from helping to improve sanitation in poor countries, a major point of diversity that has helped to find the following loyal customers.
In total, the business has donated more than $ 8.3 million to improve sanitation and help build toilets in developing countries.
The increase in sales related to the purchase of the COVID-19 epidemic meant that the public enterprise managed to contribute $ 5.85 million this financial year – a 750 percent increase in last year’s donation.
The product’s presence is so strong that its most loyal customers in the UK and US, make more sales than Australia, since its global launch in 2019.
“The US and the UK have been our two fastest growing markets,” he said.
“Contributing 50 percent of the profits and ethics and values we have incorporated into our product makes us unique,” Simon said.
“Doing good is a good business and that is what our customers love most. When they buy from us they know they are doing a lot. ”
Simon explained that giving back 50 percent to a business helps to make a bigger contribution than if a 100 percent profit was made.
“We decided to cut 50 percent instead of 100 percent because we believed we would be able to grow the company as soon as 50 percent returned to business,” he said.
“We believed we could make the company at least twice as big which would have a huge impact on 2.4 billion people.”
Simon said it “should be a great year” with the release of new products and the launch of its first European store as its global expansion continues.
Who Gray Crap recently unveiled a new product sold in Australia in eight days – Dream Cloth which is a combination between a paper towel and a sponge made from recycled materials.
“We’re 10 years in now and having a hell of time,” Simon added.
