Join us to demand a Menstrual Act Now!
Our urgent call for a Menstrual Health, Dignity, and Sustainability Act has been backed by 35 experts and organisations. We need your help to demand a Menstrual Act Now!
With 42 per cent of girls in the UK struggling to afford period products*, menstrual products generating 28,114 tonnes of waste in the UK per year**, and conventional period products containing toxic chemicals and metals***, it’s clear women, girls and people who menstruate are being let down when it comes to their periods.
Wen is urgently calling for a Menstrual Health, Dignity, and Sustainability Act, backed by over 35 leading experts, NGOs, academics, environmentalists, and period product manufacturers. Supporters include Baroness Natalie Bennett Green Party peer, Dr. Karen Joash Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, charity Girl guiding, and campaign group Bloody Good Period.
You can read the full Menstrual Health, Dignity, and Sustainability Act and the list of supporters here.
The act outlines actionable steps to improve menstrual health, sustainability and ongoing stigma surrounding menstruation. It frames menstruation as both a human rights and public health issue, drawing inspiration from pioneering policies in Catalonia and Scotland.
It urgently calls for equal access to sustainable period products, improved menstrual education, independent testing, transparent product labelling and stronger regulations.
Did you know period products are regulated under the same legislation that covers other consumer items like candles and cutlery?
We need your help
Our research shows that more than eight in 10 UK women and people who menstruate agree period products must be better regulated and nine in 10 agree manufacturers should be made to list the contents on product packaging.
We urgently need a Menstrual Act. Please back the act by pledging your support, writing to your MP using our template letters, and sharing the message on social media demanding a #MenstrualActNow.
What supporters of the Menstrual Act say:
“It’s time we recognise menstrual health for the critical issue it is. This act represents a vital step toward ensuring dignity, health, and sustainability for women, girls and all those who menstruate. Our goal is to protect menstrual health and the planet by advocating for stronger regulations, better education and encouraging the use of safer, reusable products.”
– Helen Lynn Wen Environmenstrual Campaign Manager and author of the Menstrual Act
“The surge of new reusable period products is great for sustainability, reducing waste, particularly plastic waste, as we come to understand how we have choked our planet and are filling our bodies with microplastics. But, improved regulation remains crucial to ensure that manufacturers don’t use or allow toxic chemicals in the rush to sell us their products. That is why I’m taking through the House of Lords the Consumer Products (Control of Biocides) Bill, which seeks to end all unnecessary use of toxic products, which not only threaten our health but promote antimicrobial resistance, threatening the medicines we need.
– Baroness Natalie Bennett Green Party peer
“Many women and those who menstruate have been unaware of the vulnerability of the vaginal and vulval areas to harmful chemicals, which has limited their ability to make informed health choices. As a gynaecologist, we understand that the high absorption capacity of this region is significant – so much so that we commonly use it for administering medications. This makes it especially concerning when toxic chemicals are present in period wear, potentially causing long-term health issues. Women and those who menstruate need greater awareness and strong legislation to protect them from these harmful effects, ensuring that products used in intimate areas are safe and free from dangerous substances.”
– Dr. Karen Joash, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Scientific Advisor to Global Black Maternal Health and Tommy’s Charity
Hon. Tània Verge is an MP in the Parliament of Catalonia and former Minister of Equality and Feminisms of the Government of Catalonia, which in March 2024 launched a global first that institutes the right to menstrual equity. This includes the free distribution of reusable menstrual products through local pharmacies to all girls, women and other menstruating people aged 10-60.
“Governments must guarantee the right to menstrual equity, because sexual and reproductive rights are human rights. Policies such as the free distribution of reusable menstrual products, which Catalonia pioneered in March 2024, have the potential to stir structural changes: eradicating menstrual poverty, putting an end to the social taboos, myths and stigma surrounding menstruation, improving women’s health with free-toxic products, and contributing to the reduction of waste. Gender justice, social justice and climate justice are thus intertwined.”
– Hon. Tania Verge Mestre MP in the Parliament of Catalonia
Those statistics in full
- *42% of girls in the UK struggle to afford period products resorting to makeshift items like toilet paper. – Plan International UK. Let’s Talk Period. Accessed 10/23
- **Disposal of menstrual products – tampons, pads, cups and period pants generates 28,114 tonnes of waste per year in the UK. – Blare, L.A.G et al. An exploratory study of the impact and potential of menstrual hygiene management waste in the UK. Cleaner engineering and technology. Vol 7. (2022)
- ***Period products have been found to be a considerable source of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as phthalates, bisphenols and parabens for women. These chemicals are linked to cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders, birth defects, asthma and allergies. This is because the skin of the vagina is extremely absorbent, so the absorption rates are higher. – Gao, Chong-Jing et al. Feminine Hygiene Products a Neglected Source of Phthalate Exposure in Women. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, 54, 930−937 and Gao, Chong-Jing. Phthalates, bisphenols, parabens, and triclocarban in feminine hygiene products from the United States and their implications for human exposure. Environment International 136 (2020) 105465