The makers of Always sanitary products have confirmed they will no longer use the female symbol ♀ on packaging, to reflect that trans and non-binary people have periods too.
The move comes after trans campaigner Ben Saunders wrote to P&G, which makes Always, earlier this year to ask why the company uses the symbol on some of its packaging. In a letter to Saunders shared on Twitter, Always confirmed it had redesigned the wrapper without the feminine symbol.
“Please just be aware that you might find products with the old wrapper design in the stores for some weeks after December, as the distribution of the new packages might take some time – the new designs should be in store Jan/Feb 2020,” the brand said.
The announcement received a mixed response on Twitter – while some have praised the move, others have accused the brand of “erasing women”.
Saunders, who was previously named Stonewall Young Campaigner of the Year, has since set their Twitter to private, meaning the letter from Always is not publicly available.
But in a statement given to HuffPost UK, Always confirmed the move and said it is committed to supporting all of its customers.
“For over 35 years, Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so,” a spokesperson said. “We’re also committed to diversity and inclusion, and after hearing from many people across genders and age groups, we realised that not everyone who has a period and needs to use a pad identifies as female.
“To ensure that anyone who needs to use a period product feels comfortable in doing so with Always, we updated our pad wrapper design.”
The spokesperson added that the company’s mission remains, to ensure “no girl loses confidence at puberty because of her gender or period”.
It will continue to provide access to period products with programmes like #EndPeriodPoverty and tackle societal barriers and stigmas like it did with its #LikeAGirl campaign.