Half the Global Population Washes Clothes by Hand: Whirlpool Foundation, the Washing Machine Project Helping Address With Thousands of Manual Washing Machines - Seite 3

About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home and inspiring generations with our brands. The company is driving meaningful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and InSinkErator. In 2023, the company reported approximately $19 billion in annual sales, 59,000 employees, and 55 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

About The Washing Machine Project
The Washing Machine Project is a grassroots social enterprise based in the U.K. aiming to alleviate the burden of hand washing clothes and empower women by providing remote, low income and displaced communities with an accessible, off-grid washing solution. The Divya Washing Machine - a manual, off-the-grid washer-dryer helps save up to 50% of water and 75% of the time compared to hand washing clothes.

¹The report estimates the resource consumption of roughly 590,000,000 washing machines in 38 countries with about 2.3 billion people, which is about one third of the world population." [1] According to various sources, including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, only 2 billion people today have access to washing machines, while the remaining 5 billion individuals, particularly women, resort to hand washing clothes, a labor-intensive and time-consuming task involving fetching water, heating it, and manual washing. [2][3][4] Notably, Hans Rosling, a renowned data analyst, states that since the 1950s, washing machines have become ubiquitous for approximately 2 billion people worldwide. [5] Rosling also highlights that around 2 out of 7 billion people globally have access to washing machines, leaving approximately 5 billion individuals, or 71.4%, who still hand wash their clothes. [6] The global population rose to 6.9 billion in 2010, with nearly all of that growth occurring in the world's developing countries. [7] Utilizing the mathematical equation ((6.9 - 2.3) / 6.9) * 100 = 66.6%, we can approximate that around 60% of the world's population washes clothes by hand.