Hi Super Supporters!

I’m sure many of you have heard that the Government has pledged funding to provide free menstrual products to pupils in all Primary and Secondary Schools and Colleges throughout England.

This is fantastic news, however the tampons and pads that will likely be purchased with this funding will be conventional products, which contain high amounts of plastic. I believe that these essentials should be provided in a way that benefits those using them and the environment.

Although this campaign is focused on getting brands and supermarkets to change their products, I feel that this is a concern that many of you will agree with and want to take action on. Please join me in urging the Government to do this in a way that will have a minimal environmental impact!

You can do this by sending a message through the Department of Education contact form, you can write your own message or use the template below:

Dear Damian Hinds,

I am contacting you as a supporter of the change.org campaign to ‘Make all Menstrual Products Plastic-Free’, which has over 188K signatures. (www.change.org/plasticfreeperiods

The Government has announced that they are going to fund a scheme to tackle period poverty by making menstrual products freely available in all Schools and Colleges throughout England.

This is fantastic news, however the tampons and pads that will likely be purchased with this funding, will be conventional products. These contain up to 90% plastic, are constantly being produced, used for 4-8 hours, disposed of and then take over 500 years to break down. They also contribute to ocean plastic, pollute the environment and have harmful impacts on wildlife.

I am writing to ask you to use this funding to provide these essentials in a way that benefits those using them and the environment.

You can do this by choosing eco-friendly tampons and pads that are plastic-free, instead of conventional products, which have an unnecessarily high plastic content. It would also be great if you would consider providing reusables such as washable pads and cups, to make this choice available to pupils and students.

Surely it is in the best interests of everybody that we provide these products in a way that is not only beneficial to pupils and students, but also has a minimal environmental impact?

Yours sincerely,

______________

It would brilliant if you could also tweet about this and tag Education Secretary Damian Hinds (@DamianHinds) in your posts! Suggested:

The Government has announced its pledge to provide free period products in all schools and colleges! @DamianHinds I am urging you to do this in a way that benefits those using them and which will have a minimal environmental impact! #PeriodPoverty #EndPeriodPlastic

Thank you for your continued support!

Ella :)

@ella_daish #EndPeriodPlastic