Clear your hands, not the environment; Bar of soap or liquid soap, which one is better?

People used to practice the habit of washing hands with soaps long time ago. Even before and during the period of the Spanish Flu, people used to carry a bar soap with them and clean hands with them. Handwashes, antibacterial gels, etc. were yet to be made at that time.

Now in 2020, due to the arrival of Covid-19 most of the people won’t step out of the house without a small bottle of sanitizer or hand-wash and a mask.

Washing hands in regular interval has now became a part of our daily living, this is because the recent studies and TV awareness programs shows that soap can kill viruses.

Soap, thus becomes an essential part of man’s life. But there arises a question; which one to go for? A bar of soap or a bottle of hand wash? While we look in the cleanliness perspective, both soap and the liquid do the same job.

Many prefer liquid form of soap because, there is a misconception that bacteria and virus can be transmitted through soap bars. But the recent studies by the National Library of Medicine and others says that, a bar of soap cannot transmit infection.

When it comes to environment, the liquid one is the villain. This is because of the plastic containers and pumps used for the packing of liquid soap. These wastes could leave a huge carbon footprint.

Whereas a bar of soap doesn’t create half of this waste, because all it has is a small wrapper. Another positive side of soaps is that it can last six times longer than liquid hand washes.

The production of liquid soap needs more energy than normal bar soaps. Considering the overall outlook, a bar of soap is beneficial for us as well as the environment. Thus, people can support eco-friendly companies by buying their products.

There are some Irish companies like The Handmade Soap Company, The Donegal Natural Soap Company, and the Palm Free, Zero Waste Irish Soap, which manufactures soaps and liquid soaps in recycled containers.