Our pledge to tackle period poverty in the UK
Bodyform donates 100,000 towels every month, helping women+ unable to purchase products for themselves or their families.
Since March 2017, 7 million packs of Bodyform have been donated to help tackle the issue of period poverty in the UK after news reports highlighted that some women+ are becoming socially isolated due to lack of appropriate sanitary protection.
"These latest reports are in line with research from our own Hygiene Matters report which found 40 per cent of UK girls have felt that their period has kept them from leading a full and active life at school," explains Essity’s Marketing Director for Bodyform, Nicola Coronado. "As a manufacturer of these essential products, we feel incredibly moved by this and we see this commitment as the first step in helping to combat these issues. Alongside campaigns such as The Homeless Period, we can overcome the taboo of talking about menstruation while ensuring sanitary products are reaching those most in need."
The commitment will see Bodyform join forces with In Kind Direct, a charity founded in 1996 by HRH King Charles and an existing charity partner of the Bodyform manufacturer, Essity, who together have distributed around £1m worth of essential personal care supplies to worthy causes throughout the UK since 2011.
Through its network of 5,000 charitable organisations around the UK, In Kind Direct will help Bodyform distribute 100,000 free Ultra Normal Wings Towels every month, providing essential care for thousands of additional women+.
"In Kind Direct is a UK charity who believe everyone deserves access to life’s essentials and that no usable product should go to waste – We exist to enable more communities to thrive. We know the negative impacts that period poverty can have, particularly for young girls who miss out on school because they don’t have access to the right products. Being able to rely on Bodyform’s regular commitment of period products means we can help charitable organisations every month, in the fight against period poverty, boosting dignity and self-esteem for those who would normally go without."
Paul Buchanan, Interim CEO - In Kind Direct
One of the key movements which has helped establish national awareness about the issues faced by homeless women when it comes to menstruation is The Homeless Period. Commenting on Bodyform’s commitment, they said:
"We’re thrilled to be partnering with Bodyform. We’ve been overwhelmed with the donations that people have made to the cause. We see Bodyform’s commitment as a huge step towards creating a long term, sustainable solution to the issue."
Nicola concludes."Because of the stigma attached to the subject of menstruation we are aware that this could be just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we see this as a long term sustainable commitment. Until we know the full extent of this issue in the UK, we would urge other manufacturers to look at how they can further support this cause so that we can keep increasing access to these fundamental products."
