Daily CSR
Daily CSR

Daily CSR
Daily news about corporate social responsibility, ethics and sustainability

Kimberly-Clark Addresses Period Poverty



05/28/2019

Many women in the world still lack access to period products, clean bathroom facilities, and basic hygiene knowledge.


Dailycsr.com – 28 May 2019 – The world had first witnessed the launch of “disposable menstrual pads” under the “Kotex brand”, almost a century ago and it is to that time that Kimberly-Clark has delivered on its commitment towards menstrual hygiene.
 
In the last hundred years’ span the Kotex brand has gone from “a quiet assurance of cleanliness to a bold belief” which empowers women to not let period as a barrier that stops them to progress in life. The promise is as much present in the company’s “innovative programs” that deal with “period poverty”, a term that describes the situation wherein women lack “access to menstrual hygiene products” besides not having basic knowledge and sanitation which allows women to “manage their periods with dignity”.
 
According to research results, financial reasons pose hurdles for every one in four women in the US face to purchase period products. It is to address this very gap that in 2018, U by Kotex supported the founding of the “Alliance for Period Supplies”, the latter being an extension of the “National Diaper Bank Network” which does free distribution of period products. This programme supplies sixty “allied programs” all across the country.
 
This way, “schools, shelters and other facilities” that serve low income families and individual receive support. In fact, a number of retail partners have also joined the U by Kotex’s initiative as they link “purchases of U by Kotex® products to an additional donation”.
 
It is proving to be yet another way to reach a greater number of individuals who need help to alleviate period poverty. The purchases will trigger a donation which ranges between “two period products, up to 5,250,000 period products”.
 
Kimberly-Clark’s partners all over the world strive to “improve basic sanitation in communities at risk”; among these partners are “Plan International USA, Water Aid and Water for People”. Furthermore, access to secure and clean public toilets is yet another important aspect of managing periods with dignity for the girls. As per reports:
“In Bolivia, where approximately one in two girls do not have a hygienic way to manage their period because of poor bathroom conditions, the company’s partnership with Plan International USA funded the construction of 27 new bathrooms in four schools over the past year while providing educational information to local communities about menstruation and menstrual hygiene”.
 
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com