American Restroom Association (ARA)

09/29/2026

Washing your hands shouldn't end with grabbing a dirty door handle. A complete hygienic handwash has five elements: touch-free soap, a touch-free faucet, warm water, hygienic hand drying, and a hands-free exit. Is your restroom Clean Hands Certified?

09/24/2026

The new Obama Presidential Center restrooms are standards for privacy and sustainability. Restrooms feature private stalls with floor to ceiling doors and closed-loop water conservation system that recycles captured rainwater to flush toilets. With over 19 acres of campus in Chicago's historic Jackson Park, the Center shows what public restrooms in parks and and arenas can be: private, dignified, and built to conserve.

09/22/2026

Have you read September’s newsletter?

The fifth installment of the ARA’s newsletter “The Toileteer” focuses on Parks and Arenas.

09/21/2026

ARA Community Spotlight: BioBond

This summer BioBond Adhesives donated its new protective floor coating to the Township of Nutley’s Glotzbach Park in New Jersey. “ Additionally, they paid Advanced Coatings to perform the installation. Public restroom floors are infrastructure rarely thought about” say BioBond in a LinkedIn post.

The American Restroom Association and toileteers like you are thinking about public restrooms. Want to make your park or arena restrooms better… get involved with ARA and in your community.

Link in bio.

09/17/2026

For disabled Americans, the lack of a dignified restroom is why many choose to stay home.

Whether you are in a park or an arena let’s create a world where all are free to p*e. Get involved with the American Restroom Association today.

Link in bio⬆️

09/14/2026

If you want people to enjoy the park… build a restroom.

A 2023 study published in the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health find the presence of a restroom increased the likelihood of park visitors staying longer than 35 mins by 48%.

09/02/2026

ARA IN THE NEWS
The Independent covered a federal lawsuit filed by a former Los Angeles Starbucks barista who says he was assaulted by a guest after being told to enforce the company’s paying customers only restroom policy. He was later fired for defending himself.

ARA co-founder Steven Soifer told The Independent that restroom access is a civil rights issue and that anyone in a store who needs a bathroom should be able to use one. ARA does not condone violence in any form. But this case shows what happens when restroom access is treated as a purchase transaction. It puts frontline workers in an awkward and unsafe place , and people with nowhere else to go are left with no good options.

Should companies rethink “customers only” restroom rules? Let us know what think below ⬇️

Read the full article: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/starbucks-restroom-policy-los-angeles-lawsuit-b3042787.html

Exclusive: After Starbucks employee Aaron Gomez was attacked, the co-founder of the American Restroom Association is calling on the coffee giant to loosen its toilet policy

09/02/2026

ARA IN THE NEWS
The Independent covered a federal lawsuit filed by a former Los Angeles Starbucks barista who says he was assaulted by a guest after being told to enforce the company’s paying customers only restroom policy. He was later fired for defending himself.

ARA co-founder Steven Soifer told The Independent that restroom access is a civil rights issue and that anyone in a store who needs a bathroom should be able to use one. ARA does not condone violence in any form. But this case shows what happens when restroom access is treated as a purchase transaction. It puts frontline workers in an awkward and unsafe place, and people with nowhere else to go are left with no good options.

Should companies rethink “customers only” restroom rules? Let us know what you think below ⬇️

Read the full article: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/starbucks-restroom-policy-los-angeles-lawsuit-b3042787.html

Exclusive: After Starbucks employee Aaron Gomez was attacked, the co-founder of the American Restroom Association is calling on the coffee giant to loosen its toilet policy

09/02/2026

Parks and Arenas need adequate, accessible & approachable public restrooms. That’s it.

Send a letter to a park or arena near you. Make your voice heard. Get involved with the American Restroom Association and donate today!

Support our ongoing advocacy efforts and help us reach our fundraising goal of $25,000. We are over halfway there.

[Link in bio]

08/27/2026

Does your park restroom close before the sun does? The American Restroom Association wants to help!

Too many public restrooms shut down hours before parks actually empty out, leaving families, kids, older adults, and people with disabilities with nowhere to go. Early closures are justified due to cost savings or capacity. Conversely, closures push the problem outside, onto sidewalks, bushes, and side streets.

Clean, accessible restrooms shouldn’t have a curfew. The American Restroom Association’s Park and Arena Restroom Advocacy Campaign is sending letters nationwide, and we need your voice in the mix.

Send one today. Link in bio.