First they announced they were making all of their stores plastic free, and now they’ve announced their going to take a stand in the fight against period poverty. Countdown, you the best.
In what feels like a revolutionary move in the fight for equal rights for women, Countdown has taken the step to lower the price of its branded period products to help women with low-incomes afford tampons and pads each month.
Countdown has committed to reducing the price of 15 of its Homebrand and Select range period products with certain products having a 50% discount. Countdown has estimated that the price drop will help save Kiwi’s $750,000 a year.
Kiri Hannifin, Countdown’s General Manager of corporate affairs (and clearly a women’s rights badass) said the price reduction was largely guided by her belief that better access to period products was a necessity for all girls and women.
“Period poverty is a worldwide phenomenon and a reality here in New Zealand. Too many women go without sanitary products themselves so they can provide essentials like food and rent for their family, or for some families it’s simply something they can’t stretch their budgets to afford for their children,” Ms Hannifin said.
The average women spends between $10 – $20 per month on period products, not including chocolatey treats or whatever your period vice is, and with more and more families already struggling to stretch their dollar, many young women are being forced to stay away from school and university until the red devil has left the building.
Shane Chisholm, Salvation Army’s territorial public relations director, said a few years ago “It’s not just a women’s issue, it’s a community issue” when referencing the lack of access to affordable period products and we couldn’t agree more.
👏 Well done Countdown.
Written by Her World’s Wellness editor
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YES! Such an amazing initiative from Countdown. My friends and I are always talking about how expensive it is to be a women and how ridiculous it is that we have to pay so much for things we can’t control. Hopefully more companies start following suit. Love it!