BrandSource member lets customers experience the hardships of hand-washing laundry
By Alan Wolf, YSN
Last spring Whirlpool partnered with The Washing Machine Project to bring easy-to-operate washer/dryers to underserved communities worldwide, where washing clothes by hand is the norm.
According to the U.K.-based non-profit, some 60% of the world’s population, or roughly 5 billion people, hand-wash laundry. Moreover, 70% of the time that burden falls on women and girls, who spend up to 20 hours a week on the chore.
To help address the situation, The Whirlpool Foundation and employee volunteers are helping The Washing Machine Project design, assemble and fund the Divya washer/dryer, the world’s first flat-packable manual laundry unit. The hand-cranked product operates without electricity or a connected water source, and reduces the need for the prolonged physical effort usually required to hand-wash laundry, saving users up to 50% of the water and 76% of the time it would otherwise take to hand-wash clothing and bedding.

More recently, Whirlpool worked with BrandSource member Judd & Black Appliance to bring awareness of the plight to U.S. consumers by setting up washtub and Divya demonstrations in the dealer’s Everett, Wash., showroom. Held the weekend before Christmas, the immersive “Washout Experience” allowed customers to learn first-hand what it’s like to wash clothes by hand, how long it takes, how much water is required, the physical toll it can have on the body and how the manual washers are changing lives.
Guests also learned how they can support The Washing Machine Project, and received complimentary laundry bags and clothespins as a reminder of the crisis.
Quick to Volunteer
“Our esteemed trade partner Judd & Black Appliance quickly raised their hands to host us and bring this unique experience to their consumers,” said Rosa Skinner, Whirlpool’s global senior manager of corporate social responsibility and community relations. “We were really thrilled to bring this meaningful and engaging event to their community.”
Added Judd & Black, “[Our] involvement with The Washing Machine Project underscores our commitment to community, no matter where. As one of the first retail locations in the U.S. to host an event for The Washing Machine Project, we hope to set an example for the industry by raising awareness and driving action.”
According to Whirlpool, the Washout Experience is already generating buzz. “We’re thrilled about the potential it has to drive immediate ROI — driving foot traffic to their store and potential consumer sales — while highlighting our shared commitment to Whirlpool Corp.’s House+Home social responsibility strategy,” said Missy Hodges, sales and operations buy group manager, in an email.
The Divya washer was named after a homemaker in India whose life was filled with back-breaking chores. Built with commercial-grade components and stainless-steel construction, the washer is portable and can be recycled at the end of its life. In the first five years of its collaboration with Whirlpool, The Washing Machine Project plans to distribute 150,000 Divyas to disadvantaged people in rural and urban areas in India, Mexico, Brazil, the Republic of Congo, Kenya and Uganda, saving them millions of hours of time.
Since its founding in 2019 by CEO Navjot Sawhney, a former Dyson engineer, the initiative has provided Divyas to families and communities in India, Iraq, Lebanon, the U.S., Mexico, and Uganda. Besides its partnership with Whirlpool, the grassroots social enterprise has joined forces with international development and humanitarian organizations such as Save the Children, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Oxfam, Care International and Plan International.
For more information, check out this podcast describing the Judd & Black Washout Experience, and contact your local Whirlpool rep to learn how to bring the Washout Tour to your store.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.