This week, we have been participating in GDST’s Period Awareness Week. The GDST-wide initiative aims to remove the stigma associated with periods and raise awareness of period poverty.
The week started with an assembly from Mrs Sheppard, Head of PSHCE, on the key topics of Period Awareness Week. An important aspect of Mrs Sheppard’s assembly focused on the environmental impact of plastic-use in period products. For example, a brand pack of 14 pads contains the same amount of plastic as 5 carrier bags, meaning we are flushing an estimated 1-2 billion period products every year in the UK.
We learnt about sustainable alternatives, such as plastic free products and period pants, which have a fully absorbent lining. WUKA have partnered with the GDST to offer a discount on their sustainable period products, which has been emailed to students. These can also be found on the high street, along with plastic free pads and tampons.
Period Poverty activist, Laura Coryton, visited Year 8 students to talk about her seven year campaign to abolish Tampon Tax. Period products used to be classed as luxury items, meaning VAT could be added to the price. This changed in 2021, but Coryton states that the VAT cut hasn’t been passed onto consumers, reigniting the debate on Tampon Tax.
She also talked about what students can do to combat period poverty in the wider community, including initiating petitions and donating period supplies.
