Several groups of Singaporeans have come together to care for frontline workers amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

There are actually many community-driven initiatives in SIngapore which aim to spread positivity and kindness in these critical times.

Many of these initiatives have been shared online; they allow like-minded people to come together to pursue the same cause.

Here's an example.

Singaporeans connected online to pack hand sanitisers for needy residents

One Singaporean lady (who only wishes to be known as ST) put up a post requesting empty bottles in a zero-waste Facebook group.

You see, ST and her friends bought hand sanitisers in bulk in order to bottle and distribute them to low-income and elderly residents to use.

Hann Chia, who is a co-founder of a local skincare business Fawn Labs, noticed the post and decided to reach out to ST.

Chia shared with Mothership that while the idea is great, she is worried that these collected bottles, without proper sterilisation, can contaminate the hand sanitiser as microbes and germs can breed easily in water residue left in the bottles.

That can happen within 24 hours of exposure to contaminants.

This is where Chia and Fawn Labs come in to help with its lab facilities and expertise.

Fawn Labs has volunteered to be a collection point for these empty bottles. The Fawn Lab team will help to clean and sterilise the empty bottles before ST and other volunteers fill them with hand sanitisers.

These repackaged bottles of hand sanitisers will then be delivered to Yishun, Bendemeer and Boon Keng and will be placed in public spaces for residents to use.

The group will also be making hand washs for the less-privileged after this round of delivery.

Hygiene concern with DIY hand sanitisers

Chia who is a certified formulator, highlighted that a contaminated disinfectant might do more harm than good.

That prompted her to write a post to share Fawn Labs' formula as well as an advisory to educate the public about the right ingredients to use. Solubilisers and preservatives are the two key ingredients to take note of, according to Chia:

"I cannot stress this enough. Making something without considering these two ingredients, in the form of Sprays or Hand Sanitising Rubs, may create worse and serious health issues, passing on viruses, germs, bacteria unknowingly. If you are unable to formulate properly or do not have the right ingredients, it is safer to buy ready made products that have gone through proper formulating to ensure the products perform their desired functions."

You can read more of her tips here:

Looking for more empty bottles with foam pump heads

With that, Fawn Labs has started a collection drive for more empty bottles via a Facebook post.

They are looking for more bottles with capacity between 200ml and 500ml only, and come with foam pump heads.

Here are some examples of the types of empty bottles Fawn Labs needs:

Here are more examples from the contributors so far:

A group of students from the Canadian International School has also expressed interest in contributing empty bottles:

Where and when?

If you have any of these bottles at home or at work, you can contribute to this good cause too.

Here are the details:

Address: 71 – 2B Tras Street Singapore 079010

Date and Time: From Feb. 10 to Feb. 12, from 10am - 2pm daily

For those who cannot make this timing but would still like to contribute bottles, you can contact Fawn Labs via Facebook message or email them at [email protected].

Top photo collage from Hann Chia and Fawn Labs/Facebook