Asda praised for changing name of ‘feminine hygiene’ aisle

Asda has changed its signage for the 'feminine hygiene' aisle to say 'period products' – and this positive step for people who have menstrual cycles hasn't gone unnoticed by shoppers and organisations.

Many have taken to social media to praise the supermarket retailers move away from 'hygiene', which implies periods are unhygienic, and leap towards inclusivity with the removal of the word 'feminine', as people who don't identify as female can still menstruate.

Period products service Blob Box wrote on Twitter, "Massive well done to @asda for changing the language in their stores and taking steps to being more period positive."

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Period charity Binti International, tweeted: "Thank you and a massive shout out to @asda for leading the way in changing the language around menstruation. Sanitary hygiene or feminine hygiene suggests menstrual products are for something dirty. Time to change the language #SmashShame."

One shopper also shared an image of the aisle, which featured the labels 'tampons', and 'sanitary towels', with the caption, "We're nearly there with accurately named period products at my local @asda."

Others joined in with "NEARLY!! Love this. Although 'sanitary' can be removed, in my opinion. Just call them pads. You'll save the cost of letters too" and "I was fully expecting 'feminine hygiene' so I'll take this small win. Hopefully they change towels to pads and drop all the outdated terminology asap!"

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Gabby Edlin for Bloody Good Period, which 'fights for menstrual equity and the rights of all people who bleed', says, “It’s absolutely brilliant news. This is something that Bloody Good Period has been campaigning for for years, with our Mind Your Bloody Language Campaign.

“This new name/announcement displays an inclusive attitude to gender with periods, which is so important to make sure everybody is able to talk about periods. It also removes the stigma of periods being dirty, or something we need to hide away or not talk about.

“Having very matter of fact period products rather than ‘feminine hygiene’ tells you what it is, with no euphemism to hide behind, and no shame or stigma.

“On a practical note, you know what you’re going for in the aisle, so it is a sensible thing to do.”

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A spokesperson from Asda said on the new signage, "We're proud to have made this change in our stores to better reflect shoppers' attitudes around period products.

"These items are an essential part of the shop for so many, so this change in wording helps us move towards removing the stigma from periods and period products."

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