Period poverty, where women and girls are unable to afford sanitary products, is set to decline in Scotland.

Hey Girls, the East Lothian based social enterprise, is to be a major provider in the Scottish Government’s initiative to provide free sanitary products all pupils and students.

The firm, which only launched in January, is working directly with a number of Scottish councils and universities to provide products as part of the new national scheme that will provide free sanitary products to those at school, college or university.

Hey Girls is also the main provider of menstrual products to foodbank charity Fareshare, who distribute sanitary products to communities across Scotland via their four distribution centres in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.

Celia Hodson, Founder of Hey Girls, said:

We’ve been working really closely with a number of councils and their schools to ensure we’re providing their students with the products they want, and in the delivery method that they want, rather than rolling out a ‘one size to fit all’ approach.

Hey Girls was launched in January 2018, selling menstrual products online using a Buy One Give One model – meaning that for every box purchased, a box is given away to a girl or woman in need in the UK. Since then, Hey Girls has donated more than 1,365,000 boxes of pads and tampons to people across the UK.

In August, Hey Girls launched their products in 228 ASDA and 80 Waitrose stores across the UK, following a £50,000 investment from Big Issue Invest’s Power Up programme.