This work was a collaboration between Other Tomorrows and Tork Essity. The project duration was 4 months, and my role included research, strategy, envisioning, and cinematography.
ABOUT THIS WORK
Tork, an Essity company, is a global leader in professional hygiene, dedicated to creating a healthier world for all. To build on their extensive product portfolio and strong global presence, Tork partnered with Other Tomorrows to reimagine public restroom hygiene. Our goal was to work toward a future where every space is cleaner, more inclusive, and welcoming to everyone.
CHALLENGE
The hidden cost of an uncomfortable restroom
For many people, public restrooms are not neutral spaces. They're filled with uncertainty, where small details can spark hesitation, discomfort, or outright avoidance. These barriers shape daily life. They affect how long someone stays out, where they choose to go, and whether they feel free to take part in public life at all. Tork asked: how might we design for a broader range of human needs while working within the constraints of facilities management?
“I have a bag of wet wipes and hand wipes and hand sanitizer in my bag because it's just... some of the places are really just gross.”
- Nikki, mother
INSIGHTS
Seeking safety, comfort, and care
To understand the barriers - both visible and hidden - that people face in public restrooms, my team and I traveled to different cities across the United States and Canada. We conducted interviews with people, toured their restrooms, and did activities to help us understand their experiences and how facility managers can improve their restrooms to alleviate challanges. The above video features the content of some of those interviews.
Exposed toilet paper rolls, trash strewn across the floor, a damp doorknob at the exit. People read these signals to judge whether a space is clean enough to use.
Feeling Overwhelmed
Harsh lighting, strong scents, the noise of strangers close by. A restroom can offer a moment of privacy, or it can put every nerve on edge.
Uncared For
Generic signage fades into the background, and nothing shows how or when the space gets cleaned. Without those signals, people assume no one is looking after it and that the responsibility isn't theirs either.
"Only 1 in 5 restrooms meet expectations for hygiene or cleanliness."
- tork global study
SOLUTION
A playbook for more inclusive hygiene
After careful analysis and synthesis of all the insights gathered from research, along with resonance testing the content with various American and Canadian facility managers, we created The Inclusive Hygiene Playbook. The playbook is an illustrated guide for facilities managers that brings together research, real stories, and practical interventions to show how restrooms can better support a wider range of people. Side-by-side diagrams and scalable recommendations help teams make meaningful improvements within their existing constraints. We tested the playbook with facilities managers, and what we heard pushed us to make the tools more practical and actionable for the realities of their day-to-day work.
Below is a side-by-side of the interactive web experience and PDF experience of the Inclusive Hygiene Playbook.
Below is the full Inclusive Hygiene Playbook. You can read or download the PDF version here.
PROJECT TEAM
Other Tomorrows
Jen Ashman-Stauss
Nicole Nassif
Adam Lewandowicz
Tork Essity
Raquel Carbonari
FleishmanHillard
Jennifer (Kohanim) Pittleman
Alyson Karoly