Unilever and Walgreens Team Up with 'Me to We' to Provide 15 Million Gallons of Water to Families in Need

Purchase of Select Unilever Products at Walgreens to Trigger Donation of Clean Water Overseas*

News provided by

Jul 29, 2015, 02:49 ET

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., July 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Announced today, Unilever and Walgreens have joined forces for the first time with Me to We to provide customers with a new way to make a positive impact on the world through everyday purchases. Give H2OPE to Others (#GiveH2OPE) enables Walgreens customers to make a life-changing difference for children and families in need. Beginning July 26 and through Sept. 30, purchases made at Walgreens of select Unilever TRESemmé®, Suave® or Caress® products will help provide up to 15 million gallons of clean water to developing communities.

"Walgreens is dedicated to championing everyone's right to be happy and healthy, and by offering programs that reflect this mission, we aim to make it easy for customers to take part and help make a difference," said Walgreens President Alex Gourlay. "We look forward to supporting our customers as they participate in this meaningful cause to make a true impact."

A unique collaboration between the consumer packaged goods, retail and non-profit sectors, Give H2OPE to Others leverages a sustainable international development model to help benefit families in rural areas. The program will engage consumers with brands they know and love while empowering them to make a difference through simple actions taken at home. The donation from one Unilever product purchase will supply five gallons of clean water to families and communities in rural Kenya.

"At Unilever, we believe a purpose-driven business can drive profit and positive social impact," said Todd Tillemans, Corporate SVP, President Customer Development, Unilever. "We're also seeing results that map against this belief as we watch our brands with a strong social purpose become larger business drivers. This partnership is yet another proof point of our commitment to creating a bright future for the next generation. It serves as an example of our continued work to build a movement nationwide that inspires Americans to take small actions every day that can add up to making a big difference."

The partnership ladders up to sustainability initiatives that are priorities for both Unilever and Walgreens, and is designed to help show that even the smallest steps can have a large-scale social impact – such as making purchase decisions that positively impact others. The donations triggered from these purchases will supply clean water that helps reduce the incidence of waterborne disease and illness, and will cut time spent collecting water – allowing students to spend more time in the classroom, and increase time spent towards productive activities like farming or working.

Launched in 2010, the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan sets out to double the size of Unilever's business while reducing the company's environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. The company continues to make progress against the rigorous goals set forth in the plan, including enhancing livelihoods for millions around the world. This partnership with a retailer is the first time that the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan has been realized through a direct impact tied to product purchase, encouraging consumers to join Unilever on their journey to pave the way for a bright future.

Walgreens today continues a long-standing tradition of meaningful corporate citizenship that addresses the evolving needs of its customers and communities. As part of its efforts to champion everyone's right to be happy and healthy, Walgreens focuses on corporate social responsibility programs that impact the community, environment, workplace and marketplace.

Consumers will not only be contributing to the cause through their purchases, but also can track the impact to see how their actions contribute to the donation goal. The Me to We 'Track Your Impact' function at www.walgreens.com/trackyourimpact allows customers to enter the UPC code for each TRESemmé®, Suave® or Caress® product purchased at Walgreens to see the effect their small action has.

"Clean water isn't a luxury; it's a basic human right. The Give H2OPE to Others campaign will provide five gallons of clean water that can be used for drinking, basic household activities and drip irrigation for household gardens," says Craig Kielburger, Co-Founder, Me to We. "This partnership will ultimately make a tremendous impact in the lives of so many families overseas, helping to break the cycle of poverty for many."

For more information on the partnership, visit www.walgreens.com/trackyourimpact.

* Between 7/26/15 and 9/30/15, for every purchase of a Suave®, TRESemmé® or Caress® product at participating Walgreens or Duane Reade, six cents will be donated to the Me to We Foundation, up to $200,000. The Me to We Foundation will allocate 100% of all funds received to provide clean water to families through Free The Children. For more information about the Me to We Foundation, visit www.metowe.com/foundation. Purchases are not tax deductible. Not valid in Puerto Rico or US Virgin Islands.

About Unilever United States, Inc.

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Refreshments, Home and Personal Care products with sales in more than 190 countries. In the United States, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Simple, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TIGI, TONI&GUY Hair Meet Wardrobe, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Unilever employs approximately 8,000 people in the United States – generating approximately $8.5 billion in sales in 2014.

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) aims to double the size of Unilever's business, while reducing its overall environmental footprint and increasing positive social impact. The USLP is a strategic response to the challenges businesses face operating in an uncertain and volatile world. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/.

Unilever ranked number one in its sector on the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
The entire Unilever global factory network, as well as its U.S. non-manufacturing facilities, have achieved zero non-hazardous waste to landfill status.
For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
To connect with Unilever U.S. via Facebook visit: www.facebook.com/unileverusa
To connect with Unilever U.S. via Twitter follow: @unileverusa
To learn more about taking small actions that can make a big difference visit: https://www.brightfuture.us

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com), the nation's largest drugstore chain, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. More than 8 million customers interact with Walgreens each day in communities across America, using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice. Walgreens operates 8,240 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens digital business includes Walgreens.com, drugstore.com, Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Walgreens also manages more than 400 Healthcare Clinic and provider practice locations around the country.

About Me to We and the Me to We Foundation

Me to We is an innovative social enterprise that offers socially conscious products and services, to help individuals change the world through daily choices. The work of Me to We and the Me to We Foundation supports international development partner Free The Children's holistic and sustainable international development model that works to remove barriers to education and to empower communities overseas to break the cycle of poverty. With two decades of experience in countries around the world, we have helped to empower substantial and sustainable change for entire communities.

Contacts:
Unilever: Lindsay Kaplan, [email protected], 212-445-8258
Walgreens: Mailee Garcia, [email protected], 847-315-2141
Me to We: Angie Gurley, [email protected], 416-432-9291