P&G Korea expands social contribution for visually impaired
Students participate in an education session for visually impaired people at the Seoul National School for the Blind in Seoul. Courtesy of P&G Korea
P&G Korea is expanding its community outreach by improving access to household products for visually impaired people and recycling plastic waste into public amenities such as benches.
P&G Korea, the Korea Consumer Agency and a council of participating businesses jointly held a donation ceremony for household products with braille labels and a safety education session on Oct. 15 to mark the 47th White Cane Safety Day, which honors the achievements of blind and visually impaired people and celebrates the white cane as a universal symbol of their independence.
Since 2022, P&G Korea has supported visually impaired people by providing household products and funding the production of braille tags and stickers. The company has donated 15 million won ($10,600) worth of household products, including Downy fabric enhancers and Head & Shoulders hair care products, as well as 2 million won to support the production of braille tags and stickers.
This year, P&G Korea held its first household product safety education session for visually impaired students. The session was held for preschool and elementary school students at Seoul National School for the Blind in Jongno District, Seoul.
Instructors taught students how to identify household products and check safety information using QR codes and braille tags. Students also watched instructional videos with audio descriptions and participated in hands-on exercises using actual household products. The educational materials were also distributed to 13 schools for the blind nationwide and through online platforms used by visually impaired people.
Along with P&G Korea, other participating organizations distributed 6,255 sets of braille tags and 10,000 braille stickers. They also provided a total of 180 million won worth of products, including household goods and food products with braille labels and QR codes, as well as home appliances equipped with voice guidance features.
Upcycled benches installed at Yongsan Station in Seoul / Courtesy of P&G Korea
On the environmental front, P&G Korea has continued its consumer-driven recycling initiatives. To mark Resource Circulation Day on Sept. 6, the company joined forces with Korea Railroad Corp., Emart and TerraCycle Korea to install 30 upcycled benches at Yongsan Station in Seoul.
The benches were made from approximately 1.3 tons of plastic waste collected through a recycling campaign at Emart stores. P&G Korea has been participating in the campaign for approximately nine years.
“Social contribution is meaningful when we pay attention to the difficulties and challenges people face in their daily lives and turn our efforts to address them into tangible changes,” P&G Korea General Manager Rohini Venkateswaran said.
“We will continue to work with various stakeholders by leveraging our products and capabilities to bring positive changes that consumers and local communities can experience in their daily lives.”