Coffee chain Starbucks UK has introduced free period products at work for its UK employees, as of today (16 February).
Starbucks partnered with sustainable period care brand Time Of The Month (TOTM), which focuses on breaking down the stigma and shame that surrounds menstruation, helping to end period poverty and alleviating anxiety about working during a period.
A team of seven members of the business’ Women’s Impact Network, a group of 140 employees which aims to empower women to find success and feel confident in the workplace. This group presented the solution to senior leadership as part of wider work to normalise and improve period dignity in the workplace.
Holly Clarke, chair of Starbucks Women’s Impact Network EMEA, said: “The difference that providing free sanitary products can make to our partner’s experience at work is staggering, helping to improve accessibility for all and remove anxieties we know many people face around periods, especially when at work. We’d love to see others in the industry take a similar stance and work towards eradicating period poverty across the UK.”
Ruby Parmar, chair of TOTM, added: “We’re so excited to be partnering with Starbucks, a move that supports our mission to champion menstrual wellbeing, comfort and dignity. We really hope this move by Starbucks will inspire other employers to be bold and do the same.”
Starbucks currently offers its UK staff free food and beverages on shift, free packaged coffee and in-store discounts, free access to Headspace app for their mental wellbeing, a bonus annual leave day each year for birthdays, weddings, children’s sports days, moving house, or graduations, and interest-free loans that can be paid back over 12 months to cover rental deposit costs when moving home.