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It’s the cool way to combat COVID

Two Brighton graduates have designed a dispenser that combines style and sustainability to sanitising hands.

29 July 2020

Their Soapstone dispenser, made from recyclable aluminium, is refillable from their large aluminium containers which means no more buying small plastic bottles.

It’s a design that is capturing the public’s imagination – the graduates’ Kickstarter target of £2,400 to bring the first batch of Soapstones to market was surpassed within six hours, and pledges are continuing to stream in.

Brighton-based designers Pete Barr and Eli Heath, both University of Brighton graduates, were awarded Product Design with Professional Experience BSc(Hons) degrees in 2018. They explained how their design came about.

Eli Heath and Pete Barr standing side by side

Left to right: Eli Heath and Pete Barr

Soapstone dispenser hanging from a belt loop on some trousers

Soapstone: combining style and sustainability while sanitising

Eli said: “We are tired of ugly, boring and unsustainable ways of sanitising hands and came up with a durable, refillable and compact product.”

Pete said: “Avoiding the use of the usual small plastic bottle dispensers means people are not contributing to the billions of tons of plastic waste being sent to landfill sites.

“Soapstone is manufactured in the UK from 100% recyclable aluminium and it is designed to last a lifetime.

“We have to keep fighting COVID and this means constantly sanitising hands – Soapstone is a much more sustainable way of doing so.”

Find out more information about Soapstone.

Teaching Excellence Framework silver award

TEF Silver awarded for the quality of our teaching and student outcomes

Center for World University Rankings 2025 top 4.3%

We are in the top 4.3% of institutions globally, Center for World University Rankings 2025

Race Equality Charter silver award

Race Equality Charter Silver awarded for our pledge to advance representation, progression and success for minority ethnic staff and students

Stonewall LGBTQ+ Inclusive Employer Gold Award 2024

We are ranked 14th in Stonewall's top 100 employers for commitment to equality for LGBTQ+ staff and students

Athena Swan Gender Charter Silver Award

We were awarded Athena Swan Silver for advancement of gender equality, representation, progression and success for all

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We are a Disability Confident employer, committed to ensuring opportunity for progression for all

Disabled Student Commitment logo with the text 'Signed up' and two hands forming a heart shape

Signed to the Disabled Student Commitment, an initiative to improve support for disabled students

EcoCampus Platinum logo, a platinum circle with the additional text 'The EcoCampus award for the phased implementation of an Environmental Management System'.

EcoCampus Platinum accredited for our environmental sustainability, compliance and processes

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