Friday, 11 June 2021, 5:33 am
More than 1,500 schools and kura to benefit from new initiative
Kimberly-Clark New Zealand is proud to announce it has been named a key partner of the New Zealand Government’s ‘Access to Period Products in Schools’ initiative. Commencing mid-June, students from more than 1,610 schools and kura will have access to free tampons and pads, a key first step to addressing period poverty in New Zealand.
UBK Period Products
Kimberly-Clark is the manufacturer of New Zealand’s leading period care brand, U by Kotex. In 2020, the company participated in the Government’s Waikato trial of free period products in 15 schools and kura in the Waikato region, specifically supporting Fraser High School. In the same year, the company publicly committed to alleviating period poverty for 500,000 people across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, as well as educating five million people to fight menstrual stigma.
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People will be able to access free period products from the first community hub set up to smash period poverty. (File photo) In December, The Period Place conducted a national survey about periods. Multiple women said they often had to take time off work because they couldn’t afford sanitary items. ”[I] was too embarrassed and ashamed to be honest about why I had to take the days off,” one woman said. “Not being able to afford good quality, reliable sanitary pads for myself and daughters was depressing.” Another said period poverty affected her confidence as a teenager.
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