Emerging Poverty


Photo: standard.co.uk

Every girl and woman goes through it for years of her life. On average women have 450 periods in their lifetime. Try to imagine these without the ease of buying sanitary products…

When choosing my charity for the patch kicksarter campaign I came across a charity called “Plan International” which have a Girls Fund. This is an extremely important fund that supports women and girls in situations that we are all so lucky not to be in. It also provides them with essentials that they need like sanitary products and toiletries allowing them to concentrate on the more important things in their lives.

After finding them, scrolling through their posts and information I saw a fact that shocked me:

1 in 10 girls have been unable to afford sanitary products. 


There was a campaign a while back about cutting the tampon tax. It is a fact that products such as some Men’s razors are not taxed. But some Sanitary products are.

Yep. You read that correctly. Why is the biggest question. Clearly men HAVE to shave, however it isn’t a necessity for women to use sanitary products on their period. Supermarkets such as Tesco and Waitrsoe have reduced the tax from 20% to 5%. Why are these products taxed you ask? Apparently they are a luxury item. Ask any woman. I don’t think that is a word she would use. Oh female privilege.


Hey Girls

This is a company where when you buy any products they will donate one pack to a charity that provide a girl who needs sanitary products but cannot afford it.

Buy One. Give One. 

To me it is also easier and not that much more expensive, they are delivered on a day of your choosing with a time period that can be adapted as much as you like. They are also made from eco cotton same as TOTM - Which I have also used in the past. Not only is better for you, but also the environment. Less plastic produced and used in the
world.

Both companies are a great idea. I was with TOTM which cost me £6.12/m (16 pads). These are made from eco cotton so are better for you and the environment.

On average 1 conventional pack of pads contains as much plastic as 4 carrier bags. 


I decided to change to Hey Girls when I read about how they are supporting the period poverty. With this subscription it costs me £9.70/m (22 pads - 3 packs) This means every month I am firstly helping the environment by using eco cotton pads, but also helping out 3 girls when I pay for my subscription.

Both subscriptions can be cancelled, changed or paused at any time. 


I used a calculator on BBC to work out how much on average I would spend on this ‘luxury’:

So with my age of 22 and starting my periods at age 13, according to this calculator, I have spent on average;

£387.39 on products
£18.45 of which is VAT

and in my lifetime (again on average)

£1,472.07 on products
£70.10 of which is VAT.

(based on the VAT remaining at 5% and prices remaining the same)

Thank goodness there isn’t a rule where we have to pay for this all in one go when we get our first period. If this is average you can see how hard it could be for some women and girls. These are not a choice and there isn’t an alternative product. For food and drinks you can easily make your own rather than buying meal deals daily or use a refillable bottle. But this is not a luxury for anyone. I’m sure if both camels and females had periods once a month things would be differently.

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