Needing an emergency tampon or pad while away from home – at work or on the street – is something that the vast majority of women (86%) have experienced. To respond to this situation, Catalonia announced a few months ago that public spaces would have tampon and pad dispensers in schools, institutes, clinics and police stations, among others. In one more step to guarantee free access to menstrual products, starting this Thursday, November 30, the Veritas supermarket chain also becomes a menstrual point: the 80 establishments distributed in Spain and Andorra will offer free pads and tampons to anyone who wants them. need.
Veritas, which already offers menstrual products to its workers, has enabled dispensers this Thursday so they can choose between a tampon with a biodegradable cardboard applicator or a pad made with 100% organic cotton. The 80 centers (in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarra, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, the Valencian Community and Andorra) have an indication of being a Menstrual Point on their entrance doors. And people who need a menstrual product, whether they are clients or not, will be able to request it, as well as free access to the establishment’s bathroom. This guarantees free access to menstrual products.
“Menstrual products are a basic necessity, just like toilet paper, and by providing these products we take a step towards gender equality,” explains Sophie Pagnon, Head of Communication, Marketing and Impact Officer at Veritas.
Article 5 of Organic Law 2/2010 provides for distribution measures for these products, recalls Veritas, which already in 2020 decided in a pioneering way to reduce the VAT on them from 10 to 4%, a measure that has subsequently been implemented by law.
Also in a commitment to ecology, since menstrual products generate 200,000 tons of waste per year, Veritas uses the Masmi Organic Care brand, which does not contain plastic derivatives and is free of toxic products.