Free period products for all state students.

 

Hygiene and healthcare company Essity, has partnered with OfficeMax New Zealand, to jointly deliver the NZ government’s ‘Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata - Period products in schools’ initiative.

 

Essity and OfficeMax will work alongside the Ministry of Education to provide free period products to children and young people in all state and state-integrated schools. 

 

The initiative will seek to break down stigmas tied to periods and is another positive step to providing equal health and well-being outcomes for all, regardless of gender or economic status.

 

Essity’s research shows that around 60 per cent of female students in New Zealand admit to having been without period products at school.

 

Essity will install its TORK dispensers, and OfficeMax will leverage its relationship with New Zealand schools to facilitate period product replenishment.

 

Kevin Obern, managing director of OfficeMax, said the company is proud to play a role in such “an incredible initiative that will positively impact more than 200,000 students across New Zealand each year”.

 

Obern added: “Ninety-six per cent of eligible schools that have opted into the initiative already have an active account with OfficeMax. This makes us confident that because our people know, understand and already work with so many educators, we’ll play a critical role in ensuring kids don’t miss school days because they don’t have access to the period products they need.”