John Lewis and Waitrose are cutting the price of their period underwear by a fifth, becoming the latest retailer to join the effort to make reusable period products more affordable.
The price of more than 30 different kinds of period underwear will be reduced at stores from next week as they join the Say Pants to the Tax campaign, which was launched by Marks & Spencer and the Wuka this month.
John Lewis said it was “the right thing to do” and would provide “a much-needed boost for customers looking for ways to save on essential sanitary products”.
Nicki Baggott, a period products buyer for Waitrose, said: “It’s a no-brainer that period underwear should be classed as a period product. It’s the right thing to do and will help our customers save money on everyday essentials.”
Campaigners are calling on Victoria Atkins, the financial secretary to the Treasury, to get period pants reclassified as period products, rather than as garments, in the chancellor’s autumn statement. The reclassification would bring them into the same category as single-use sanitary products such as tampons, as well as multiple-use menstrual cups, which have all been exempt from VAT since 2021.
Despite the removal of the “tampon tax”, concerns have been raised that the saving has not been passed on to customers. A study by the not-for-profit advisory firm Tax Policy Associates last year claimed companies had enjoyed an annual boost of £10m after the change.
Laura Coryton, who started the Stop Taxing Periods campaign that helped scrap the 5% VAT rate on period products, said the 300,000 people who signed her petition to end the tampon tax “wanted to make period products more accessible … They didn’t want to make supermarkets richer.”
M&S launched the new Say Pants to the Tax campaign with Wuka, promising to pass on 100% of any cost savings to shoppers if it is successful. A five-pack bundle of period pants at M&S costs £35, but would be £29.17 without VAT, while a pack of three – currently £20 – would drop to £16.67.
Swapping single-use products for reusable period underwear could help to reduce plastic waste and save customers money in the long run. But cost has been identified as a barrier for some, with a recent survey of 268 women aged 18 to 54 finding that 23% of respondents cited it as a reason for not using period pants.
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An open letter in support of the campaign calling on Atkins to reclassify period underwear has received 70 signatories, including support from Sainsbury’s, Primark and Mountain Warehouse. Campaigners have also set up a petition for members of the public to sign.
A spokesperson from the Treasury said: “We are committed to making sanitary products affordable and available to all who need them. That is why we have delivered on our promise to scrap the tampon tax so that VAT is no longer charged on sanitary products, such as pads, tampons and reusable menstrual products such as menstrual cups.
“We have also rolled out free sanitary products in schools, colleges and hospitals to continue our fight to end period poverty once and for all.”
