LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere.
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Innovative and Affordable Sanitation & Hygiene Solutions
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Approach
LIXIL has set an ambitious target to improve the lives of 100 million people by 2025, leveraging our design and engineering expertise as a leader in water-related products. We are delivering on this ambitious target by offering innovative sanitation and hygiene solutions through our SATO brand, as well as by forging partnerships with diverse stakeholders. Our commitment to utilizing our expertise and innovative technologies is essential for achieving sustainable impact on a global scale.
Learn more about Global Sanitation & Hygiene Strategy >
Learn more about Impact Through Partnership >
SATO: Bringing Access to Basic Sanitation worldwide
SATO is broadening its product portfolio to address the evolving demands of our growing customer base, thereby establishing a sustainable social business. As we expand our sales network into more remote regions, we are working to meet the broader needs of people and communities. By diversifying our offerings, we empower people around the world to lead better lives and look forward to a brighter future.
SATO's product range is within Asia and Africa. As of March 31, 2025, we have shipped approximately 9.4 million units globally, improving sanitation and hygiene for an estimated 82 million people.*
Our Customer Experience Centers in India and Africa are pivotal in connecting our solutions to customers around the world, strengthening our marketing and sales structures, and significantly improving customer insights and feedback mechanisms.
*Global Sanitation & Hygiene: LIXIL’s Impact Methodology (Opens new window) PDF: 717KB >
LIXIL Sanitation and Hygiene Impact: FYE2025 Progress Update (Opens new window) PDF: 477KB >
SATO Toilet Solutions
- Cumulative shipment volume of SATO products:
- approx. 9.4 million units
- Countries where SATO products are shipped
- 46
- Number of people whose lives have been improved
- approx. 82 million
SATO toilet solutions embody a range of innovative, affordable, and easy-to-install toilet systems, specifically designed for rural and peri-urban areas lacking access to basic sanitation facilities. Our water-efficient designs ensure efficient flushing with less than one liter of water. SATO toilet solutions feature a counterweight trapdoor mechanism that opens during flushing to remove waste, then closes to mitigate odors and reduce disease-carrying insects, such as flies. Made from durable yet lightweight plastic material, SATO products are designed for easy transportation and installation, a vital consideration for remote and rural communities where transport options are limited. In our ongoing commitment to sustainability and innovation, we are exploring the use of recycled plastics and alternatives to fossil fuel-derived plastics to further reduce our environmental footprint.
・SATO Pan
The original SATO model, the SATO Pan was developed to address the sanitation needs of communities in Bangladesh. This pioneering model emerged as an affordable solution for constructing new latrines and upgrading existing ones.Starting the production and sales in 2013, Bangladesh is the inaugural market for the SATO brand.
How SATO toilets work
*The illustrations show SATO Pan
1. The SATO Pan has been used
2. The user pours water into the pan, which opens the trap and flushes the waste
3. The counter-weight trap door closes and creates a liquid seal that keeps odours and insects away
・SATO Stool
The SATO Stool is a western-style sit stool toilet that offers a safer and more comfortable toilet experience for children, older people, pregnant women and people with reduced mobility.
・I-Trap and V-Trap
SATO’s Connection Systems for offset pit latrines, the I-Trap and the V-Trap, enable rapid installation and ensure a more hygienic environment.
In Africa and Bangladesh, we are expanding the Universal I-Trap. This plumbing system connects all SATO toilets, including commercially available models, to pit latrines. In India, the government-recommended two-pit pour-flush toilet system presented challenges such as clogging and lengthy installation times. To address these issues, we developed the V-Trap. Its unique V-shaped piping and adjustable valve reduce the risk of clogging and shorten installation time. Furthermore, when combined with the SATO toilet system, the V-Trap reduces the amount of water needed for flushing by approximately 80% compared to conventional toilets. As a cost-effective and efficient sanitation solution, the V-Trap contributes to the realization of safely managed sanitation in India.
Learn more about how V-Trap works (Video, opens new window) >
Installing the V-Trap toilet
・SATO Slab
The SATO Slab makes installation simple and enables people without specialized skills to build toilets quickly. The product is particularly useful in humanitarian settings, be it temporary settlements or refugee camps arising from natural disasters or conflicts where rapid deployment of sanitation solutions is imperative. Furthermore, the SATO Slab is thoughtfully designed with tactile markings, enhancing its usability for people with visual impairments, thereby ensuring inclusivity and ease of use in diverse scenarios.
・SATO SuperStructure
The SATO SuperStructure, made with 100% recycled polystyrene (EcoRenew*), offers a durable and easy-to-install toilet shelter, providing privacy and dignity in underserved communities and disaster relief settings. Its modular design integrates with other SATO products for a complete sanitation solution, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting hygiene. This makes the SuperStructure a fast, reliable solution transforming sanitation access worldwide.
*EcoRenew is a plastic material made by HandyTechno, part of LIXIL, sourced from factory waste in Japan.
SATO SuperStructure (installation example)
SATO Tap
Conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic, SATO Tap is a compact and portable handwashing solution designed to facilitate better hygiene practices in homes and communities. Recognizing the diverse needs of regions worldwide, especially those with limited access to water or handwashing facilities, our product development team adopted a user-centric approach. This approach prioritized simple materials and production methods, ensuring the SATO Tap was not only easy to use but also cost-effective to produce. As a result, the SATO Tap was strategically priced to be affordable, making it a feasible option for widespread adoption across various customers without access to running water.
SATO Tap consists of a plastic base with a nozzle that can be fitted with widely available plastic bottle shapes and sizes. It uses gravity, delivering a minimal and controlled flow of water—just 100 ml—that is sufficient for effective handwashing, achieving an impressive 90% reduction in water usage compared to conventional taps.
SATO Tap handwashing station using a plastic bottle
In the Philippines, a survey conducted by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) affirmed the SATO Tap's exceptional water-saving capabilities, particularly in school settings where such efficiency is crucial. The manufacturing simplicity of the SATO Tap's plastic components not only keeps production and retail costs low but also promotes the reuse of plastic bottles, thereby contributing to the reduction of single-use plastic waste.
SATO Tap being used in a survey to measure water used for handwashing in schools in the Philippines (©GIZ, Fit for School)
Since its launch, LIXIL has donated 500,000 SATO Taps to 12 countries in Africa, East Asia, and South Asia through partnerships with organizations such as UNICEF. A production facility has been established in India, Tanzania and Nigeria with exports to various African countries.
LIXIL's commitment to improving lives globally is embodied in the development and widespread distribution of SATO Tap. By ensuring that handwashing solutions are affordable and widely accessible, and through active community engagement, we continue to champion the significance of handwashing. This endeavor continues to empower people everywhere to have a better life every day and enjoy a brighter future.
Learn more about SATO Tap (Opens new window) >
Introducing SATO Tap (Video, opens new window) >
Learn more about SATO products (Opens new window) >
LIXIL Public Partners (LPP): Expanding Network of Public-Private Partnerships
LIXIL Public Partners (LPP) is our pioneering platform dedicated to public sector partnerships, established to enhance collaborations for water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. In response to the growing public and governments’ emphasis on social and environmental issues, including the critical need for access to clean water and sanitation, LPP aims to amplify our impact by harnessing the strengths of both public and private sectors. Building on our existing initiatives, particularly through our SATO business, LPP aims to deliver innovative products and solutions for improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene through collaboration with local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and academic institutions.
LPP is actively addressing the urgent need for running water or a working toilet at home in low-income regions of the United States, where it's estimated that up to 2.2 million people face daily challenges due to lack of access.
In Alabama, a staggering 80% of rural households in the blackbelt region have either failing or non-existent sanitation systems. Here, LPP has been instrumental in developing and implementing innovative sanitation solutions for a 100 household demonstration project that combined water efficiency retrofits and plumbing repairs with new onsite sanitation systems. The project demonstrated that private sector partners can rapidly and cost effectively coordinate and deliver services that lead to overall cost savings for program implementers and households alike. This initiative was made possible through effective partnerships and funding from state government entities and other public institutions.
Alabama project
Looking ahead, LPP is dedicated to scaling these efforts, using the pilot projects as a foundation to refine public-private partnership models and strategies. Our goal is to create a tailored portfolio of products and services that will address the needs of water, sanitation, and hygiene in similar contexts. Over the next few years, LPP is positioned to intensify efforts and drive significant progress in these critical areas, recognizing the increasing urgency for action.
Learn more about LPP (Opens new window) >
Learn more about Alabama project >
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