Kohler Co. and social enterprise Business Connect are joining forces to help children and families around the world obtain more affordable and accessible clean water. The partnership will bring the KOHLER Clarity water filter to Business Connect’s in-country distributors in 43 countries, providing a beautiful and highly effective option to local families in need of clean water.

The Kohler Clarity is a ceramic water filtration system designed to provide people in developing countries with safe drinking water through an affordable design. Addressing the demand both for clean water and quality products, Clarity fills an important need to increase access to desirable solutions for safe drinking water worldwide.

Business Connect works in more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas selling life changing products like water filters and solar lamps in partnership with local entrepreneurs to create more sustainable models of impact. Business Connect is a L3C or low-profit limited liability company with the goal of blending the sophistication of a for-profit organization with the social benefit and purpose of non-profit.

“For over 142 years, Kohler has been very active in WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and now we’re applying this expertise to help the people that need it most,” said Tim White, business development manager – water technologies for Kohler. “The development of Clarity was a critical first step, but our focus is now on partnering with organizations to get the filter into the hands of the tens of thousands families who most need it.

The Kohler Clarity ceramic water filter eliminates more than 99 percent of bacteria and protozoa, and provides up to 40 liters of safe water each day – enough to meet the drinking water needs of a typical family. Created with the same high standards of quality and design that Kohler brings to all its products, the filtration system is incredibly simple to use and maintain.

“We’re excited to work with Kohler to bring Clarity water filters to our on-the-ground partners in 43 countries,” said Jereme Lambert, president of global operations for Business Connect. “Kohler is a proven innovator and manufacturer in the water filtration space, and a likeminded organization with Business Connect in their dedication to making a real impact in people’s lives.  We expect the Clarity filter to be in dozens of countries serving the daily water needs of thousands of families in 2017 alone and look forward to a long-range partnership with the Kohler team.”

The partnership will make it easy for NGOs and retailers to access Clarity in the following countries: Bangladesh, Belize, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia.