Female hygiene education

Keep it Clear is working in a number of innovative ways to raise awareness about the sensitive topic of sanitary waste disposal.

 

The Unmentionables

The Unmentionables is a fun hen-party style game designed by word-of-mouth marketing agency Grapeviners with the Keep It Clear team to educate women on sanitary waste disposal in an innovative, entertaining, effective way.

 

  • 750 WOMEN played the game at 94 PARTIES across the region in August 2016.
  • Over 263 HOURS were spent discussing sanitary waste disposal.
  • From which over 100,000 CONVERSATIONS have been sparked and
  • 89 per cent of the participants who previously flushed tampons now bin them as a result.

 

Mumsnet and a female entrepreneur

Keep It Clear teamed up with Mumsnet and a female entrepreneur and her new invention to uncover the truth about how women dispose of their tampons. Like wipes, the labelling of these products is confusing and should be clearly marked Do Not Flush. Mumsnetters were surveyed and given the chance to trial FabLittleBag™, a hygienic, easy-to-use disposal bag that biodegrades, invented by mother-of-two Martha Silcott.

 

Research revealed that, out of the women surveyed, most of them didn’t realise they should never flush tampons,because they don’t disintegrate like toilet paper and cause blockages and environmental pollution.

 

Before trial:

 

  • 62% flush their tampons, rather than bin them.
  • Nearly half 41% of women flush tampons down the loo without realising it damages the environment.

After trial:

 

  • 71% realised flushing tampons and other sanitary items leads to sewer blockages and pollution.
  • 77% say they will bin tampons, not flush, in future (Mumsnet, on behalf of Anglian Water and FabLittleBag™ questioned 342 women, April 2016).

 

Period pilot

Keep It Clear is working with City to Sea on the introduction of a one-stop, unbiased lesson plan resource for schools to spark debate about the methods of disposal of sanitary products. More than 6,000 lesson packs have been requested by teachers following training days in the Anglian Water region.

 

By 2019, PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) lessons will be compulsory on the national school curriculum. By co-funding and working on the pilot, we are helping to initiate discussion about disposal methods, the social and environmental impacts of menstruation and the alternatives to disposal sanitary products.

 

Once feedback is gained from the pilot it is intended to roll the lesson plans out nationally.

 

Download a copy of our free menstruation product fact sheet - a useful guide or education resource explaining all the sanitary products that are available (reusable and disposable), the costs and the materials they are made from.