This special episode of Straight Talk!, recorded from the trade show floor at ISSA Show North America 2025, explores Tork’s expanding mission to advance inclusive hygiene across North American facilities.
The discussion brings together two key voices in the movement: Raquel Carbonari, Brand Activation Director for Tork in North America, and Jen Ashman, Head of Envisioning and Partner at the design agency Other Tomorrows.
Inclusive hygiene is centered on a simple but often overlooked reality: More than half of all individuals—approximately 54%—face hidden or visible barriers when using public restrooms. These barriers can include physical limitations, cognitive challenges, anxiety, sensory sensitivities, or environmental factors that make a restroom feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unusable.
Tork’s mission is to help facilities understand these unseen obstacles and implement solutions that improve hygiene outcomes for every user. Tork is working to raise awareness, provide industry education, and deliver tools and insights that help facility managers and building service contractors address these gaps. A major component of this effort is the Tork Coalition for Inclusive Hygiene, a diverse group of academics, policymakers, designers, and industry experts.
The coalition’s first major deliverable is the Inclusive Hygiene Playbook, a free resource designed to help facility managers identify common barriers and implement practical improvements. Built on extensive research, the playbook is informed by ethnographic fieldwork conducted across North America.
For the Inclusive Hygiene Playbook and additional resources, click here.
