CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In honor of International Women’s Day, Always, the leader in global feminine care, is continuing efforts to raise awareness and take action to help #EndPeriodPoverty with a month-long donation campaign. Together with your help, Always wants to ensure that all girls can confidently stay in school and have the opportunity to become whomever they dream to be.
The brand’s first #EndPeriodPoverty campaign in the United States this past back-to-school season, culminated in a donation of over 15 million period products to school-aged girls in need via long-term partner Feeding America®. Always was inspired by all the people who mobilized to take action – and now aims to increase the product donation total to 18 million2 period products this 2018-2019 school year.
The Always’ #EndPeriodPoverty program was started after the latest Always® Confidence & Puberty Survey, found that nearly one in five girls in the U.S. have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to period products.1 Missed school equals missed opportunities. This lack of access starts a vicious cycle: forgoing classes, getting behind in schoolwork and passing on activities, like sports and clubs. All this can be especially damaging at puberty, when girls’ confidence plummets3 and school interactions are crucial to their development. That’s why Always is committed to help #EndPeriodPoverty by sparking conversation and taking action.
“Girls should not have to worry about the availability of period products. With the help of Always, Feeding America food banks have been able to provide more of these vital products to girls this school year when they need them most,” said Karen Hanner, Vice President, Manufacturing Product Sourcing at Feeding America. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership, so together we can continue to improve the lives of families across the country and help more girls gain the confidence they need to reach their potential.”
Girls around the globe and right here in the U.S. are improvising their period protection, using toilet paper, newspaper, rags, or even socks when they don’t have access to period products. When a girl isn’t properly protected during her period, it puts her confidence, dignity and education at risk. She’s less likely to attend school, and if she does, is likely to feel distracted during class and unable to focus on reaching her full potential. Together with your help, Always wants to change this and help #EndPeriodPoverty.
“For the last 35 years, Always has been committed to championing girls’ confidence, which is why we’re so passionate about continuing our efforts to help #EndPeriodPoverty and help girls stay in school,” said Hesham Tohamy, Vice President Feminine Care Procter & Gamble. “We were thrilled to see the overwhelming support the program received in August and the positive impact we were collectively making in girls’ lives. We know puberty is a transformational time for girls that can come with challenges and Always is committed to helping stop the drop in confidence that occurs at this time. This is why International Women’s Day felt like the right time to continue shining a light on this issue and rallying people to join us to help drive change. Like the theme of this year, we too hope for a more balanced future where girls can develop without limitations and have balanced representation in the classroom.”
Join Always to #EndPeriodPoverty and keep girls in school. Here’s how you can help during the month of March:
- ENGAGE: By joining the conversation and raising awareness of the issue of period poverty.
- PURCHASE: Always at participating retailers to spark a pad donation to girls in need through the Feeding America network of food banks.
- CREATE: Recreate your own #EndPeriodPoverty photo5 on Instagram tagging @Always_brand and using hashtag #EndPeriodPoverty, to trigger a month supply4 of Always product to a girl in need through the Feeding America network of food banks. See an example from Producer & Host, Lucie Fink: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bul6RNbAmcp/
For more information on how you can get involved, including a list of participating retailers, please visit www.always.com/endperiodpoverty.
Footnotes
1The Always Confidence and Puberty Wave VI Study, Nov. 2017; based on females 16-24 years old.
2For every Always Pads or Tampax Tampons pack purchased online or in-store at participating retailers between 3/1/2019 and 3/31/2019, Always will make a donation of one period product donation to U.S. school girls and women through the Feeding America network of food banks. Estimated donation of 3 million period products is based on expected sales. Final donation will be determined by actual product sales. Find participating retailers here.
3The Always Confidence & Puberty Wave V Study, Mar. 2017; based on females aged 16-24 year old.
4For every recreated photo posted on Instagram tagging @Always_Brand and using #EndPeriodPoverty, Always will donate one month’s supply (twelve pads), to U.S. school girls and women through the Feeding America network of food banks up to a maximum of a million pads. Research indicates twelve pads is the average number of pads used in one menstrual cycle.
5Recreated photo must include an Always pad in one hand and toilet paper in the other hand as seen in original press release image, and must use the appropriate tags and hashtags in order to qualify and spark a donation.
About Always
Always®, the world's leader in feminine protection, offers a wide range of feminine pads, wipes and liners designed to fit different body types, period flows and preferences. For over 35 years, Always has been empowering millions of girls globally through puberty and confidence education, and the provision of products to girls in need. More recently, the Always #LikeAGirl campaign has furthered these efforts by helping tackle key societal barriers to girls’ confidence. Together, Always believes we can create a world where puberty is a moment that propels girls forward into confident womanhood. Please visit www.always.com for more information.
In 2016, Always was proud to announce that all feminine care owned production sites have achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill. Please visit https://us.pg.com/environmental-sustainability/ for more information.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
