NEWS RELEASE
LOBLAW COMPANIES LIMITED
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Period products shouldn't be considered a luxury item for anyone. Period. However, inadequate access to period products is a national reality for close to one quarter of Canadian women.
And, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart team, 17 per cent of Canadian women shared that they've had to make the difficult choice between buying a period product and an essential item on their grocery list more times than they can count.
Faced with this impossible choice, 14 per cent of Canadian women have been forced to resort to using unhygienic alternatives to period products like socks, rags or old t-shirts and sometimes worse2.
Contrasted with the fact that 78 per cent of Canadians admitted that they were not at all familiar with the term "period poverty", the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart team, U By Kotex and Food Banks Canada decided to join together to raise awareness around this often overlooked issue, and encourage action and donations.
The LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart team and U By Kotex have partnered up to give Canadians the opportunity to take action at the checkout with a buy one, give one initiative. U By Kotex will match the sale of every pack of period products with the donation of another box to a local food bank, up to 50,000 boxes. But that's just the start.
Additionally, throughout the month of August, the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart program partnered with influential Canadian women to shine a spotlight on period poverty and the story behind the #PeriodPovertyAlternatives that some Canadian women must resort to using in the absence of period products.
According to Food Banks Canada, over 430,000 women rely on food banks across the country every month. However, unfortunately, period products are not often top of mind when it comes to donations, which is unsurprising considering only one quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians are aware that women rely on their local food bank for personal care products such as tampons and pads.
"Availability of period products at local food banks is essential in preserving the dignity of Canadian women who should never have to make the choice between food and period products," said Chris Hatch, CEO, Food Banks Canada. "Your local food bank accepts and encourages donations of period products, so that together we can help bring period poverty in Canada to an end."
The partnership with Food Banks Canada is part of a long term commitment by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. through its LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart initiative to raise awareness and create action against period poverty in Canada.
This Thanksgiving, the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ team in partnership with Food Banks Canada wants to encourage Canadians to donate period products in addition to non-perishable foods to their local Food Banks.
Since 2011, the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart program has been committed to supporting women's health, including initiatives focused on helping women facing period poverty such as: product donations, local campaigns like Tampon Tuesday, making period product dispensers available to homeless women in Toronto, and strategic collaborations with partners like U by Kotex and Food Banks Canada.
Since 2018, the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart program has supported 50,000 women facing period poverty through the donation of period products.
Canadians can do their part to help carry the momentum forward by visiting shoppersdrugmart.ca/periodpoverty to learn more about period poverty in Canada and how they can help.
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