Aussie stationery company Karst starts making hand sanitiser that gives back to jobless workers
It’s one of the most difficult products to find as COVID-19 continues to grip Australia, but schools and daycare centres across the nation have been invited to apply for free bottles of hand sanitiser.
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Schools and daycare centres have been thrown a lifeline amid hand sanitiser shortages across Australia.
Sydney-based sustainable stationary company Karst have announced they will donate 1000 bottles of the sought-after product to these organisations, which continue to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 500ml bottles of 70 per cent alcohol hand sanitising gel will be distributed through a partnership with Australia Post, with schools and daycare centres invited to apply here.
Health experts recommend using hand sanitisers with at least 60 per cent alcohol content.
The bottles are expected to ship from April 30.
Last week, Karst co-founded Jon Tse and Kevin Garcia told News Corp they want to save the jobless and help the country in the fight against coronavirus.
The Sydney-based friends have used their private networks to find a way to start producing their own hand sanitiser to distribute across Australia to people’s doors.
To achieve this, they have partnered with Rescue, a newly formed collective of workers who have lost their job during the pandemic.
Rescue’s 13 new employees, some of whom have come from big companies like Qantas, have helped set up the new business to combat the national shortage of the popular personal hygiene product.
Mr Garcia told News Corp they are importing the sanitiser from Asia and then bottling it at their stationery factory in Melbourne.
He said customers will be limited to six bottles per person. Each 500mL bottle is worth $22.
“What we make from selling the product goes back into their (the employees’) pockets,” he said.
“In the first few hours of launching we’ve sold 1000 bottles to people all around the country.”
He said they do not want to price gouge customers, unlike other independent sellers who have been selling for exorbitant prices.
“We have seen the prices people are charging for this and we’ve had wholesale requests to purchase our product but we said no because we don’t know what others might charge for it,” he said.
“The whole point of this is to get it to people who need it within 30 days.
“We’ve had people try and get around the purchase limit on our website but we’ve stopped them.”
Rescue’s founder Nick Benson said they are hoping to create a sustainable business that keeps workers in a job for the long term.
Mr Benson is helping the business get off the ground through his day job as the founder of a tech company called EXD, which helps brands manufacture personal care products.
“We have people of all different capabilities and many of them have mortgages and newborns,” he said.
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While he conceded they were starting on lower wages than what they would be used to, Mr Benson said they have an opportunity to start a business that can continue even after the virus pandemic ends.
“We have an obligation to keep them in healthy wages as we go forward,” he said.
“We don’t want to just exist in a crisis, we want to be there for the community in an ongoing way.”