SCA, Sweden, and Fotografiska (The Swedish Museum of Photography) in Stockholm have signed a partnership agreement aimed at highlighting how hygiene and health affect people’s well-being. The collaboration is aligned with SCA’s focus on hygiene, health, well-being and its commitment to sustainability, as well as with Fotografiska’s "Fotografiska for Life" platform – photo exhibitions and dialogs that highlight challenges for society and people around the world.

Through the partnership with Fotografiska, SCA--a global player in hygiene products—is taking yet another step to shine the spotlight on the challenges and taboos related to hygiene and health.

"Over the course of many years, SCA has emphasized hygiene’s decisive role in the health and well-being of people globally, for example, through our ‘Hygiene Matters’ reports. Images and photographs are a powerful way of conveying this. In cooperation with Fotografiska, we want to give the subject more attention and help to break the silence and stigma around such subjects as menstruation and incontinence. The partnership is an example of the importance of cooperation between companies and non-governmental organizations and how we can together contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals," said Joséphine Edwall-Björklund, SVP, Group Communication, SCA.

As part of the partnership, a number of photo exhibitions will be arranged.

"Sanitation and hygiene problems are an enormous challenge that, not least, affects the lives of women and children around the world. Using the art of photography as a tool to highlight and explain these issues and, with strong photographic material as a basis, create an active forum for an ongoing discussion about something that is so essential to ensuring a sustainable existence and future, feels highly relevant for those of us at Fotografiska. We said Jan Broman, CEO of Fotografiska.

SCA has worked for many years with images and photography as key elements of its corporate communication. In conjunction with SCA’s participation with an all-women team, Team SCA, in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/2015—one of the aims of which was to make it possible for women to participate in an arena normally reserved for men—the Group also arranged a global photo competition to promote women photographers. SCA conducted this cooperation with photo agency Getty Images with the aim of strengthening the position of women photographers. The pictures were taken during Team SCA’s global journey. The winners of this global photo competition also took part in the exhibition Journey of change—Women pushing boundaries, which was arranged at Getty Images in London. 

The exhibition focused on strengthening women’s role and breaking the taboos surrounding hygiene-related issues, such as menstruation and incontinence. "A picture is worth a thousand words. The right pictures can also affect people emotionally and hopefully lead to greater commitment to hygiene and sustainability issues," continued Edwall-Björklund.

Fotografiska opened in 2010 and quickly established itself as one of the world’s leading meeting places dedicated to photography and is one of Sweden’s foremost tourist destinations. More than 500,000 people visit Fotografiska on Stadsgårdskajen in Stockholm each year.

SCA develops and produces sustainable personal care, tissue, and forest products. Sales are conducted in about 100 countries under global brands including TENA and Tork, and regional brands, such as Libero, Libresse, Lotus, Nosotras, Saba, Tempo, Vinda, and Zewa. As Europe’s largest private forest owner, SCA places considerable emphasis on sustainable forest management. The Group has about 44,000 employees. Sales in 2015 amounted to approximately SEK 115 billion (EUR 12.3 billion).