When it comes to period poverty, reusable menstrual products have an essential role to play in achieving universal, sustainable menstrual equity. The Aisle team has created a new free resource for student government leaders and administrators looking to learn about how to tackle period poverty on campus.

The Canadian government has made recent strides toward ending period poverty. Food Banks Canada will be administering a national pilot to provide free menstrual products as part of a $25 million Menstrual Equity fund, is yet another example of this.

What does period poverty actually look like? In order to describe it, we thought about all of the stories that have been shared with our team over the past decades, and came up with a composite profile of a post-secondary student we are calling Sloan (she/they). Before we get into a day in their life, let’s review the basics about period poverty and sustainable menstrual equity.

‘Moon Time’ is a common expression among Indigenous Peoples for menstruation, and indicates the relationship between the lunar cycle (28 days) and the human menstrual cycle. The purpose of the zine is for Indigenous young people to learn about and be proud of their moon times, as well as to learn Indigenous terms related to the menstrual cycle.

New changes to the Canadian Labour Code mandate that federally-regulated workplaces must provide menstrual products to their workers. To support employers as they navigate these new regulations, Aisle has published a whitepaper titled “Menstrual Equity in the Workplace: a roadmap to success and sustainability”.

Most approaches to period poverty understandably focus on short-term, urgent needs, for example students in schools, or employees in workplaces. But the bigger-picture solution is not just having more pads and tampons in more bathrooms.

In the past couple of years, our vision of universal access to safe, quality, sustainable, shame-free period care and education for everyone who menstruates, has been gaining ground, with free disposable pads and tampons increasingly being provided in places like schools and workplaces. 

One of the things that I am often asked is how things have changed in the reusable menstrual product space over 30 years, and my answer is that it’s a mix of mostly wonderful things. 

Menstrual equity is the idea that access to free, quality menstrual products, education and a shame-free attitude about periods are essential for full and dignified participation in life for everyone who menstruates. This Giving Tuesday we are hosting a fundraiser in support of The Period Purse, a Toronto-based registered charity that tackles period poverty by ensuring sustainable access to period products for all.

Menstrual products are essential personal hygiene supplies, alongside toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels. Provision of these essential supplies are unquestionably the re sponsibility of the institutions where the bathrooms are located. 

Our question is: If free disposable pads and tampons are now being funded for students, employees and others, why not reusables too? 

The effects of gender dysphoria vary from person-to-person but many people told us that that gender-affirming period underwear like our period boxers makes having a period a little more bearable. Many appreciated knowing we offered plus size period underwear that would truly fit their body. The security of wearing absorbent and leakproof period underwear also gave them comfort. These are the reasons our #BoxersUnderTheTree campaign exists. 

Free Periods Canada surveyed post-secondary students across Canada and collected 470 responses and summarized those results in a report, which is now available for download here.