You may or may not have seen in the news over the last few years about the ludicrous nature of the 5% Tampon tax. The idea that a period and its required products are a luxury, but men can shave with a necessity that costs 5% less.
You may or may not have seen in the news over the last few years about the ludicrous nature of the 5% Tampon tax. The idea that a period and its required products are a luxury, but men can shave with a necessity that costs 5% less. That we could abolish Tampon Tax, and then we couldn’t. But there is good news… In March 2016, Parliament created legislation to eliminate the tampon tax and it is expected to go into effect by April 2018 in line with Brexit. Some stores such as Tesco and Superdrug have already cut the cost of their sanitary products to eliminate the 5% tax, which we proudly support.
However, we’re still finding that girls are missing days at school; that women are using rags, toilet tissues and newspapers as a substitute; and there is still a severe price tag associated with being a woman. Did you know that every woman who has a regular period from 17-50 will spend on average £18,000 on sanitary products in her life time?
Here at Brunel we want to raise the profile to ensure that every woman and girl knows everything they need to know about their body, their periods and the products they are using. We want to work with those who run on hard times and who can’t afford a “luxury” like a period and who simply have no choice about their sanitation and personal health.
We’re setting up the “Period Positivity” box in our Union Reception. We will be stocking up on sanitary products for those who can’t afford, who run out at the worst possible time or just need a helping hand once in a while. And all we ask in return is that when you have a few spares, or you’re able to give back and help another, just pop them in our donation box so we can continue to support our community when they have that emergency week.