SAN FRANCISCO, August 2, 2020 — Grove Collaborative, a leading digital-first brand and e-commerce platform for natural home and personal care products, announced today their most recent initiative: supplying public schools who choose to reopen this fall with natural, healthy cleaning supplies. Through a partnership with National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (National Alliance), Grove Collaborative has identified charter schools across the U.S., which are all public schools, experiencing high needs due to the pandemic and is donating cleaning products such as paper towels, toilet paper, all purpose cleaner, dish soap, and hand soap. Because Grove Collaborative cannot donate all of the product needed to all schools in the U.S., it is calling on other consumer product companies to donate what they can to help schools prepare for the fall. So far, brands such as Acure, Soapbox, Murphy’s Natural and Aunt Fannie’s have committed to donate soap and hand sanitizer to public schools identified by the National Alliance.
“We are grateful to see generous companies like Grove Collaborative stepping up to meet the great need for cleaning supplies that public schools across America are working around the clock to obtain and budget for,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “We hope to see more amazing organizations like Grove Collaborative step in to fill the gap during these trying times and help equip the public schools that choose to reopen this fall with the critical cleaning supplies needed.”
Schools across the nation have gone above and beyond to serve students and families both inside and outside their communities during the pandemic. However, back-to-school plans involve incorporating new expenses amid significant budget cuts, leaving school districts with a difficult financial puzzle to solve. Cleaning and disinfecting requirements for reopening schools will be incredibly costly, forcing school leaders to dip into their operating budgets and use funding meant for the classroom (books, materials, technology) on cleaning supplies. As a result of the tight available funds, many schools will likely turn to more inexpensive cleaning options, such as industrial-strength and chemically-driven solutions, instead of natural cleaners that are proven safe for children and staff exposure.
“While there is still a lot of debate around if and how schools will reopen this fall, one thing is clear: not many schools in the U.S. have the budget to support the cleaning supplies needed to reopen safely,” said Stuart Landesberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative. “Grove is proud to partner with the National Alliance to get safe, healthy cleaning supplies to public schools across the country, and I encourage all companies that make the products needed to join us in this effort.”
Being that Grove Collaborative is a leading retailer of natural cleaning and personal care products, they see this as a clear way to help their community during a time of crisis. With the foundation of its brand DNA built on providing natural, sustainable, and healthy choices to the mass market at accessible prices, this is an ideal opportunity for Grove to drive a meaningful impact in communities across the country.