Woolworths NZ and its supply partners are teaming up with charity The Period Place to donate period products after a survey found half of respondents experience financial stress because of their cycles.
The national campaign, which runs until September 8, will see Woolworths’ supply partners donate a single period product such as tampons, pads, or liners) from the sale of participating period products from U By Kotex, Libra, Carefree, Stayfree, Tampax, Organic Initiative, Tom Organic, Bonds, Vagisil, Femfresh, Evamay, and Essentials to The Period Place.
Woolworths will top up The Period Place with a $20,000 cash donation.
The appeal will help provide period products and alleviate period poverty for some of the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who can’t afford them.
“Too many people can’t afford basic period products and it’s a bloody disgrace,” The Period Place chief executive Danika Revell says.
“We know times are tough, that’s why we aren’t asking anyone to buy any products to donate to this campaign.
“Simply buying your regular period products at Woolworths this month will generate donations and help people experiencing period poverty.
“If people can stock up on extra products while they’re on sale this month, it will mean more donations to us.
“But if all they can buy is their normal amount of products this month, they’re still helping others and that’s bloody fantastic.”
The appeal is more important than ever, with a recent survey of more than 1000 New Zealanders aged between 16 and 54 finding 36 per cent had experienced a period where they couldn’t afford necessary period products.
Of that, 28 per cent sometimes couldn’t afford them, five per cent often couldn’t and two per cent always couldn’t afford products.
The survey found for 48 per cent of respondents their periods caused them financial stress or anxiety.
Meanwhile, money wasn’t the only worry for respondents with accessing products also being an area of concern.
Sixty-six per cent of participants at least sometimes worried about how they would get period products if they ran out or were caught by surprise.
Revell says the survey not only highlights the financial challenges for people with periods but importantly the need for access to period products in all bathrooms.
“We aren’t expected to bring our own toilet paper to work, or restaurants, or other public spaces and period products should be the same.
“We want to see every bathroom, in and out of the home, stocked with period products so they’re readily available for people who need them.”
This is the second year The Period Place has worked alongside Woolworths for the month-long appeal.
“We’re stoked to have a partner in Woolies,” Revell says.
“Going to the supermarket is as every day and normal as we want talk about periods to be.
“Woolies was the first supermarket in the world to call a ‘period’ a ‘period’ when they changed their signage to ‘period care’ from ‘feminine hygiene’ in 2020.
“I’m hoping through this appeal more people get the message that periods are normal, but period poverty is not.”
The four-week campaign is running in all Woolworths supermarkets nationwide until September 8.
