St Andrews will keep giving out free reusable sanitary products after successful trial

The student committee Got Consent held a free giveaway of 400 reusable period products for students. This initiative was funded by the university, who Got Consent have said will offer more products if the scheme continues to be popular.

Got Consent’s event was held in the Students Association, where students were invited to pick up products free of charge. The society, which aims to raise awareness about consent and sexual-health related issues, organised menstrual cups and reusable sanitary towels for students to pick up.  

Reusable sanitary towels can often cost up to £40 for a pack of five, and a reusable menstrual cup can cost £20. This giveaway therefore saved students up to £60 on sanitary products. 

The group also held tutorials on how to use the reusable alternatives, which can each last up to 10 years. In one woman’s life, it is expected that she could use 11,000 disposable period products. These alternatives promise to reduce reliance on single-use plastics and give students a more cost-effective alternative. 

The packs available included a bag for the items and five reusable sanitary pads for each person who picked up products. We spoke to Got Consent about the program and they told The Tab “the event went super well! People were really excited about the idea of sustainable, reusable period products – especially free ones. Lot’s of people want these products but they’re so expensive that they’re often inaccessible, which is why it’s so great that the uni is giving them away to students.”

Got Consent were impressed with today’s turnout. They have said that they will they offer more product giveaways in the future and they also hope to expand the range of products on offer. They revealed that they managed to  give out 200 pack of pads and 150 cups. They said that they will be having another giveaway of menstrual cups Wellbeing Fayre on April 1st.

They have also ordered more pads and said “we’ll be giving more out as soon as those come in!”