Hey Girls donates a period product to someone in need every time one of their products is purchased from a store.
A social enterprise tackling period poverty has welcomed a decision by Co-op to stock its products.
Hey Girls donates a period product to someone in need every time one of their products is purchased from a store.
From today, their Day Time and Overnight Sani pads and Menstrual Cups can be found in almost 200 Co-ops around the UK.
The move has been made possible by a £50,000 investment from Big Issue Invest as part of its Power Up programme to support and mentor social enterprises.
Following the completion of the three month Power Up Programme in 2018, Hey Girls were listed in both ASDA and Waitrose last year and is a major supplier in the Scottish Government’s initiative to provide access to free sanitary products to pupils and students in Scotland.
Celia Hodson, who founded Hey Girls alongside her daughters Kate and Becky, said: “Gaining a listing in one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives, owned by millions of members, gives us a real buzz.
“Co-op customers selecting a Hey Girls product in store know the more period products we sell, the more period product we can donate to their local community. Box for Box. Simple.
“That’s why we’re different from all the other product manufacturers and why our values align completely with the Co-op.”
Victoria Haigh, category buyer for Co-op, added: “At Co-op we know that period poverty is a much wider issue across the UK and internationally. We are proud of our partnership with Hey Girls, particularly as their ‘buy one, give one’ initiative aligns with our community values.
“We are delighted to list the brand at the Co-op knowing that the products will give back to the wider community.”
The Power Up initiative, funded by partners, Aberdeen Standard Investments, the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government, Brodies LLP, Places for People and Experian is aimed at enabling up to 20 Scottish social ventures to access loan funding of up to £50k over the next two years. Since 2018 it has raised £1.4m and delivered over 1000 hours of business mentoring.
Danyal Sattar, chief executive of Big Issue Invest, said: “We’re really proud to have supported such a dynamic social enterprise. It’s fantastic to see how the Power Up Programme has made a crucial difference to social ventures, such as Hey Girls, which has enjoyed unprecedented growth since being founded in January 2018.”
