Its Spanish region Catalonia began to provide free reusable menstrual cups, period underwear and cloth pads in pharmacies today, in one of the first initiatives of this kind worldwide.
The program is part of the regional government's effort to reduce “the period poverty”after a survey showed that approx 44% of women who use menstrual products in Catalonia dthey don't have the money to buy their first choice product and 23% say they were forced to use single-use products again.
Limited availability of menstrual blood collection products, often due to cost, lack of washing facilities or education, can lead girls and women to miss school and work and exacerbates the risk of infection and toxic syndrome shock.
Ester Mirales, age 55, stated that if men were menstruating the issue would have been dealt with much earlier. “This affects all women, those who fortunately have the financial means and those who do not,” she stressed.
Women may spend €2,500 on hygiene products in their lifetimewhile choosing reusable products will reduce this cost to around 145 euros, according to the authorities.
The initiative in the region of northeastern Spain it will benefit around 2.5 million peoplegirls, women and people who identify as non-binary or transgender and are on their period, who will be able to find the products in more than 3,300 pharmacies.
The measure also targetsto reduce over 9,000 tons of waste that are created every year in Catalonia from used tampons and sanitary napkins.
18-year-old student Elena Eranth said she wants to try reusable products. “We use a lot of sanitary napkins, a lot of tampons, a lot of materials in our lifetime and they pollute a lot,” she told Reuters.
As reported by APE-MPE, Scotland became the first region in the world in 2020 to offer free hygiene products, but the Catalan government says it is now the first time that reusable menstrual products have been provided free of charge.
In 2022 Spain passed a law that stipulated that menstrual products should be distributed free of charge to schools, prisons, women's health care facilities and other public institutions.
Source: News Beast
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