Meet the Edinburgh students helping to tackle period poverty: Sanitree

Sanitree is one of Edinburgh’s leading student volunteer teams helping to tackle period poverty in the Global South. Working with a team of beneficiaries in India to create reusable pads and fundraise for them on Edinburgh campus, the team are fighting against period poverty and poor menstruation policy. We sat down with head editor, Georgia Folsom and outreach officer, Caroline Newton, to discuss the work of the social enterprise and look at one of the many ways Edinburgh students are helping a worldly cause. 

What is Sanitree?

“Sanitree is a social enterprise, in a tale of two cities,” as Caroline puts it. With a beneficiary team in Jaipur, India, and a student volunteer team in Edinburgh, the two teams work in collaboration to promote sustainable and ethical menstruation. The beneficiaries in Jaipur make reusable pads from ethically sourced materials, which the student team in Edinburgh help promote and sell. All the profits the Sanitree team make go to support the fair wages of the beneficiaries and tackle the fight of period poverty. 

“Sanitree is different from the typical student society you might find at university”, Georgia says, “you’re not restricted to a campus issue and there’s a heavy sense of a global social commitment. It shows that it is possible to make a global change from Edinburgh. ”

The Edinburgh team

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The Sanitree student team is made up of 18 members at Edinburgh University. The team hosts events for the student community throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for their operations. Last month, the team collaborated with FemSoc to host a screening of “Period.End of Sentence”, an Oscar-winning short documentary, followed by a discussion with the director, Melissa Berton. “We try and host a variety of events that will appeal to all students,” said Georgia. From talks to club nights and the selling of their reusable pads, there are many ways the team are active on campus. 

The Sanitree Edinburgh team

The beneficiaries

In Jaipur, seven local women are employed to produce the Sanitree reusable cloth pads. They work in a workshop space, called the Her Shakti Centre, which also hosts self-defence, yoga and English classes, ran by the locals. For many working in the centre, this is their first experience of employment with some of the beneficiaries having dropped out from school or being widows, victims of domestic abuse and violence. Over their five years, Sanitree has supported 34 women through a secure income and flexible working hours.

“We work to maintain a good relationship with the beneficiaries”, said Georgia. Once a year, Sanitree volunteers go to visit the Her Shakti Centre, and interviews with the beneficiaries can be found on its blog posts.

The beneficiaries in Jaipur

Making the switch to reusable pads

The beneficiaries are not the only ones Sanitree has a commitment to, the team also promotes environmentally sustainable practices through advocating for its reusable pads. Explaining the environmental benefits of reusable pads, Caroline said: “One single-use period pad has the equivalent of four carrier bags worth of plastic. Our pads last for two years, in one two-year window using our pads that is 572 disposable pads prevented from landfill, the equivalent of 2,288 plastic bags.”

The team also told us of the personal benefits they have gained from switching to reusable pads. In the long run, reusable pads are cheaper. “My bank account is smiling”, Georgia said, when discussing the long-term savings. Caroline mentioned how comfortable the reusable pads were, saying “Our pads are far more comfortable than single-use plastic period pads, I find they chafe a lot less and are more absorbent.”

The pads are available on its website or in-store at One World Shop or Shrub Coop both located in Edinburgh. 

Two happy girlies with two reusable pads

Getting involved

The team expressed their enthusiasm for getting more people involved in the cause. “We recruit every April and every September meaning there are multiple opportunities to get involved. Keep your eyes peeled for recruitment opportunities on our Instagram,” said Caroline. “There’s a role for everyone,” said Georgia, “We have spaces for graphic designers, content creators, blog writers and networking to name a few.”

When asked what makes working with Santiree so enjoyable, Georgia replied “I love doing it because you don’t have to have a particular skill set or background.” She added, “I’ve learnt how to make blog posts and it’s so much better doing it about something that you care about.” 

Caroline also mentioned other ways for the Edinburgh community to get involved “Come to our events or buy our pads – it’s the best way to show support.”

Information on events and recruitment can both be found on the Sanitree Instagram page.