Whirlpool Honored for Washing Machine Project 

Navjot Sawhney (at podium), founder/CEO of The Washing Machine Project, accepts the Halo Award with Whirlpool’s Rosa Skinner. They shared the stage with a Divya washer/dryer (left).

Lightening the burden of handwashing clothes 

YSN Staff 

The Whirlpool Foundation and The Washing Machine Project were honored at the recent 2025 Engage for Good Halo Awards for their efforts in bringing easy-to-operate washer/dryers to underserved communities lacking laundry products. 

Under the global initiative, Whirlpool and its employee volunteers are helping The Washing Machine Project fund, assemble and ship the Divya, a flat-packed manual washer/dryer. The hand-cranked product operates without electricity or a connected water source, saving users — mostly women and girls — up to 50% of the water and 76% of the time it would take to hand-wash laundry. 

See: Whirlpool Offers Alternative to Global Hand-Laundering 

Sixty percent of the world’s population relies on labor-intensive hand laundering, Whirlpool said, largely due to unreliable sources of electricity and water. 

“Washout” no Washout 

Last year, Whirlpool employees and participating dealers also held “Washout” events, in which shoppers could experience washing clothes by hand to understand 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. 

See also: BrandSource Member Spotlights Global Dilemma 

For their efforts, the Divya partners received a Gold Award for Best Employee Engagement Initiative at the Good Halo ceremony, which was held last month in Palm Springs, Calif. 

“We are so humbled and grateful to receive this Halo Award,” said Rosa Skinner, Whirlpool’s senior manager of global corporate social responsibility and community relations. “I’d like to thank Whirlpool Foundation for supporting this work and our employees who generously volunteered their time and talents on this initiative. Together, we hope to reclaim time and improve the lives of women and girls worldwide and open up new opportunities for them.” 

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