Aldi becomes first UK supermarket to give free period products
Story by NADJA editors
Photo provided by Aldi
Aldi has become the UK’s first supermarket chain to provide free period products to both staff and customers. Sanitary pads and tampons are now available in its in-store toilets for customers to take what they need at no cost.
The store announced that the initiative was being rolled out in 70% of its stores from March 18, with the full roll out to be completed by the end of May. Aldi’s newer stores all have customer toilets, according to its website.
The supermarket has also commissioned research that found that more than 1 in 3 (41%) people cannot afford to buy period products, and a third (30%) face the decision of whether to buy period products or choose other essential items for themselves and their family, typically milk, fresh fruit and vegetables, and bread.
The study also found that people who menstruate are having to rely on friends and family (50%), their workplace (19%) and public services such as sexual health clinics (13%), food banks (12%), and GP surgeries (11%) to access period products. For 2 in 3 (63%) people who still find themselves without access, they’re having to use a substitute item such as toilet paper, kitchen roll, old underwear or newspaper instead of a pad or a tampon.
One in five people in the UK who menstruate experience period poverty according to charity Bloody Good Period, the equivalent of 2.8 million people. This is an increase of 75% since 2022.
This is despite the fact that research carried out in 2023 pointed to the fact that the UK is one of the most affordable countries in the world for period products, where the average cost is 0.12% of someone’s monthly salary. By comparison Algeria is the least affordable, where period products cost the equivalent of 14.8% of someone’s monthly salary.
Aldi is also donating 1 million period products to UK charity Bloody Good Period.
In 2023, British high street stores John Lewis and Waitrose announced they would cut the cost of 30 types of period underwear by 20%. Previously, Scotland introduced the Period Products Act in 2020, making period products free for anyone who needs them and available at schools, colleges and pick up points.
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