Report Blame millennials for the vanishing bar of soap

tom_mai78101

The Helper Connoisseur / Ex-MineCraft Host
Staff member
Reaction score
1,633
When it comes to how Americans use soap, it’s fair to say millennials are making a clean sweep of it.

Americans between 18 to 24 are largely snubbing the old-fashioned bar of soap, leading to sales declines for the likes of Ivory’s iconic 125-year old bar and its bar soap rivals, according to new data from consumer research firm Mintel. Consumers who still buy bar soap, it turns out, have something in common: they tend to be over 60 years old and are men.

It’s not as if Americans are less clean. Sales of soap, bath and shower products are on the rise, with overall market growth of 2.7 percent last year, Mintel found. Sales of bar soaps, though, slipped 2.2 percent from 2014 to 2015 as younger consumers and women snubbed the traditional bar in favor of liquid soap. So what’s driving the generational shift? Millennials believe bar soaps are covered in germs after they are used.

Some older Americans might scoff at that belief, and there’s some research to back them up. A 1988 study found that people who washed with bar soaps contaminated with bacteria didn’t have a detectable level of of the bacteria on their hands. There are a few issues with that study, however. For one, it was backed by Dial soap, and secondly, it was published before the spread of newer pathogens like antibiotic-resistant MRSA emerged, which raises the stakes for having clean hands. (Some millennials might point out it was published before they were born.)

On the hand, some health authorities are now recommending a switch to liquid soap, with Minnesota’s Department of Health noting that germs can grow on bar soap and spread infections.

About 60 percent of Americans over the age of 65 believe it’s fine to wash their faces with a bar of soap, compared with only 33 percent of people between 25 to 34 years old.

Read more here. (CBS News)
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
Reaction score
803
Blame them falling on the god damn floor, those things are dangerous. Many a time I've gotten hurt trying to pick it back up.
 

FireCat

Oh Shi.. Don't wake the tiger!
Reaction score
530
Blame? :rolleyes:

You shouldn't wash your face with any type of soap.
It's bad for your skin.
 

Varine

And as the moon rises, we shall prepare for war
Reaction score
803
It's good for getting grease off.
 
General chit-chat
Help Users

      The Helper Discord

      Staff online

      Members online

      Affiliates

      Hive Workshop NUON Dome World Editor Tutorials

      Network Sponsors

      Apex Steel Pipe - Buys and sells Steel Pipe.
      Top