Pakistan’s First Social Distancing Prayer Mats by Dettol

COVID-19 will go down in history as one of the largest eras of health and economic crisis. But during this pandemic, a lot of businesses have found new and innovative ways to create products while also factoring in the health and safety regulations. One such innovation is social distancing prayer mats. Recently, Reckitt, Impact BBDO and BBDO Pakistan teamed up together to introduce a prayer mat fit for social distancing while praying in the mosque.

The usual prayer mats are about 70 cm wide, and generally in mosques everyone prays side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. At the beginning of the pandemic, prayers weren’t held in mosques with a jamaat as it was unsafe for people to pray together without the chance of being infected. Now, with many people getting vaccinated and observing SOPs, prayers are being held in mosques, but it is still unsafe to gather in public places due to the fourth wave. This is where Dettol’s social distancing prayer mat comes in.

This new prayer mat is 180 cm wide. Each mat is for a single person to use. There is a mehrab design in the centre of the mat where the person would be praying, and on both sides of the mat the words Yeh Faisla Behtari Ka Faisla Hai are printed. Reckitt experimented and tried making the mat with different fabrics and materials, and the final result ended up being sustainable paper which is heavy enough to be reusable. As prayer mats are respected and always kept clean, the company believes that a single mat can last a few months if stored properly and kept sanitized.

These social distancing prayer mats were launched a week before Eid ul Azha. As the Eid namaz is one of the biggest congregational prayers in a year, especially in a country like Pakistan, their release right before Eid was clearly well-thought-out. The mats were distributed by the company in a few mosques in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in limited numbers to test them out.

Dettol’s Social Distancing Prayer Mats are available for sale for Rs. 755 on Daraz. The company is hopeful that the purpose of these mats is not overlooked and that the people of Pakistan will start taking them to their mosques in order to keep themselves and the people around them safe and healthy. Honestly, we love the initiative, and we’re hoping this inspires brands to be more innovative!