A Manchester warehouse is busy packing ‘survival’ toiletry kits to be shipped out this week to Royal Marine and Army Units about to leave for Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence ordered the kits from Simply Inspired Ltd – a company which usually supplies the complimentary products and other amenities which guests find in their hotel rooms.

Simply Inspired initially agreed an order with 42 Commando Royal Marines for 600 kits containing a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, a shaving kit, hand soap and all-over shampoo in special ziploc bags. However the Brigade Headquarters decided that it was such a good idea that the kits should be provided to all Royal Marine and Army Units based all over the U.K. and in Germany who are preparing to leave for Afghanistan, increasing the total order to 6000 kits.

A spokesman for Brigade Headquarters said “The ‘survival’ kits are ideal for troops being deployed to Afghanistan because weight is such an issue and we have to keep it to the minimum. We have to carry wash kits with us in case the plane is diverted, so having the kit from Simply Inspired means we don’t have to worry about weight in our hand luggage”.

Simply Inspired is based in Plymouth but their distribution is handled by Bibby Distribution in Manchester. Sarah Glynn, the managing director of Simply Inspired, is delighted to have the opportunity to use their products to provide the Commandos with ‘survival’ toiletry kits, she said “We are used to responding to the demands of the hotel industry and we realised that our compact toiletry kits could be useful in other situations where space or weight is an issue. We have had to work quickly to fulfil all the extra orders and Bibby Distribution have responded superbly to the extra pressure.