Blog

The new campaign for UN hygiene pads underlines the shocking reality that unsanitary products such as socks and newspapers are used instead of historical products

Social enterprises Hey girls. adam & eveDDB and The big problem have teamed up to launch a national campaign to raise awareness of the shocking levels of poverty in Britain.

Investigations into the launch of the initiative have shown that every sixth British woman or her family member is affected by poverty and therefore has no access to sanitary products.

This supports previous research showing that 1 in 10 girls and young women aged 14 to 21 in the UK cannot afford hygiene clothing. However, 45 percent of the population is not aware of this enormous problem. Meanwhile, 52 percent of adults in the UK state that they do not know that some girls and young women in the UK use unsanitary items instead of historical products, including toilet rolls, newspapers, socks and sheets, because of their costs.

The latest research shows that 49 percent of Britons say they are ashamed of Britain and 38 percent are “horrified”. Four out of ten (37 percent) say they are now afraid of girls growing up in the UK because of the nature of the problem.

The UNsanitary range developed by adam & eveDDB includes real products and was available in pop-ups at selected ASDA branches on Saturday, February 15th.

At first glance, the UNsanitary range resembles authentic products that correspond to the normal categories. However, on closer inspection, shoppers find that they contain items that are some of the really unsanitary items that girls have to use a lot – socks, newspapers, and toilet paper. The products were actually not for sale.

The UNsanitary brand, Hey Girls' largest campaign to date, is supported by a consumer campaign in collaboration with 3 Monkeys Zeno and Clear Channel.

3 Monkeys Zeno, in partnership with some of its partners, Markettiers, Run Ragged and Opinium, has created a full PR launch plan that includes social media influencers such as Georgie Swallow and Sheri Scott, the broadcast and full announcement of the media includes. In collaboration with Clear Channel, the campaign, including some of the influencer’s content, will be displayed on digital advertising screens in shopping centers across the country and on its Storm website in London.

To promote awareness and education, The Big Issue has created a groundbreaking special edition that contains a 24-page mini special magazine about periods, menstrual products, poverty, activism, the environment and what we can all do that makes a big difference small steps.

The exclusive edition is the first of its kind in the UK and is devoted to an entire publication on poverty in time. The Big Issue has been working for organizations dealing with poverty alleviation for many years and is supported by Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm, Hey Girls in their remarkable growth.

In addition to being nationally distributed by The Big Issue providers, Hey Girls have recruited their own community partners who are behind the campaign by distributing the publication. For every copy sold through their community partners, Hey Girls donates a product to someone in need.

All communication links lead to the UNsanitary website, where Hey Girls and the UNsanitary launch story are revealed.

Hey Girls founder Celia Hodson said: “We created UNsanitary to raise awareness of the shocking levels of poverty in Britain. Progress is being made, but we knew we had to do something drastic so that a large number of people would become aware of what so many women and girls are going through. We hope the campaign will bring companies and the government together to initiate more radical changes. "

The mini magazine, which will be featured in the regular edition of The Big Issue, has been available from vendors across the UK since Monday 17th February.

The campaign offers a new line of stylishly packaged products from the period, but they're not what they seem. The packs actually contain UN hygiene items such as toilet rolls, newspapers and socks – an expression of what thousands of girls and young women rely on because they cannot afford historical products.