Grace & Green Teams Up with The Hygiene Bank and With Nothing Underneath

Grace & Green, the sustainable, female-founded period care company has teamed up with clothing brand, With Nothing Underneath to tackle period poverty in the UK and support the important work carried out by The Hygiene Bank.

Period poverty has become increasingly prevalent in the UK during the coronavirus lockdown, with 3 in 10 people who menstruate admitting to not being able to afford or have access to menstrual products [1]. Through their new partnership, Grace & Green and With Nothing Underneath will work to confront this issue by donating and paying for crucial period care items that will be distributed by The Hygiene Bank.

With Nothing Underneath has donated over £2000 of products to The Hygiene Bank and has helped to provide hundreds of people across the UK with the basic hygiene products they need during their period. Grace & Green’s partnership with the UK-based clothing company will continue these donations to support even more people.

With Nothing Underneath says, “It just made sense for our two brands to come together and tackle such an important issue. Due to their expensive nature, sanitary products – something the women in our company would describe as an essential basic – are one of the first products people will have to go without when money is tight.”

One of the key issues surrounding access to period products, as identified in research by Grace & Green Intern, and University of Cumbria student, Elleanor Gray, is the high level of embarrassment surrounding periods. In a study of over 104 UK participants, 84.9% felt embarrassed about their periods to the extent they felt unable to ask for help. This embarrassment commonly comes from a lack of knowledge, discussion, and inclusivity among those who menstruate—and those who don’t, too.

The Government has attempted to implement free period product schemes in schools and college. However, this initiative doesn’t reach some of the most vulnerable people in higher education settings, full-time work or the unemployed, which has made the work of centres like The Hygiene Bank even more vital.

Helen Canavan, from The Hygiene Bank says, “Women that access our services are living in hygiene poverty for a number of reasons, be it that they are fleeing abusive homes, have no recourse to public funds or are parents simply unable to make ends meet on their current salary. Whatever the reason for it, we passionately believe that all people deserve access to affordable hygiene products and that having a period shouldn’t be an unaffordable expense for any woman.”

Grace & Green believe that the key to tackling the issues of period poverty lies in assuming a responsibility of care for those who menstruate, and increasing the accessibility of basic period care.

Through this partnership, people who menstruate across the country will be given access to Grace & Green’s range of sustainable and ethical organic cotton liners, pads, and tampons—all of which are completely vegan, compostable, and plastic-free.

To find out more, visit: https://graceandgreen.co