Making period products free a ‘workplace, societal issue’

A matter of equity

A spokesperson from Deloitte, which offers Pixii period products in all their bathrooms across Australia, says that women’s reproductive health is not just a women’s issue. “It’s a human, workplace and societal issue. It’s integral to addressing the gender gap, and every action we take matters.”

Other employers such as EY, Ferrero and Mattel, also see the benefits of providing organic period products to their staff via Pixii.

Globally, Scotland made public health history in this area in 2019, passing the Period Products Act, enshrining the right to access free period products in law. In the UK, prisoners, hospital patients and students in public schools have access to free period products, but not yet workplaces or universities. In the US, 35 states have similar provisions for schools.

Australia is also among these global frontrunners, says Dr Sarah Duffy, a senior lecturer in the School of Business at Western Sydney University. In mid-2023, the ACT passed the Period Products and Facilities (Access) Act, which requires the territory government to provide free period products at all designated and accessible public places – including museums, bus depots and libraries.

“Through positive social contagion, starting with Victoria, it’s been brought onto the agenda of all states and territories; every public primary and secondary school in every state and territory offers free period products to menstruating students and in public places,” Duffy says.

School students themselves have been great advocates for free period products, an idea that’s spreading across hundreds of workplaces, too. As girls leave school and go onto university and into the workplace, Duffy is hoping that it will be part of their employment demands.

Assessing the benefits

At Western Sydney University, Duffy led a pilot project to assess the benefit of introducing free dispensers from Pixii into female and unisex bathrooms: 60 per cent of 196 people surveyed said that they would have missed class without these freely available products. All nine campuses now have Pixii dispensers.

“Some of our campuses are near shopping centres,” says Duffy. “But some are nowhere near a pharmacy or supermarket. People would have to get on a bus if they needed a tampon, and most likely they would just miss class and go home.”

In the first year of operation, the Pixii founders received mentorship from the University of Sydney’s start-up accelerator program INCUBATE that supports students, staff and alumni. (Dean is a Sydney Business School graduate). INCUBATE helped the founders refine their vision and secure their first customers.

The couple agreed that their vision for the business would have some non-negotiables, says Nina. “Our products are about equality, charity and sustainability. We don’t want to impact the world negatively and we want to give back, so, 50 per cent of our profits goes to a charity called the Stars Foundation, focused on educating girls.”

Their pads and tampons are made from 100 per cent organic cotton and are biodegradable, plastic-free (wrapped in paper) and carbon negative – from cotton farm to customer-delivered. Pixii utilises the co-packers of several disability services in Australia to help assemble their products before they reach the Pixii warehouse in Sydney for distribution.

The pad and tampon dispensers are currently made in Australia from 50 per cent recycled materials. Using funds the company secured from the Commonwealth’s Boosting Female Founders grant, Pixii will soon be launching a new dispenser made entirely of aluminium and recycled materials, also made in Australia.

Looking to the future, Nina and Dean plan to stick to the B2B model because it’s Pixii’s specialty and there are still thousands of businesses and venues around Australia that aren’t providing period products. “Our goal is to get period products into bathrooms in every business, every school, every university and any other bathroom where they might be needed.”

To learn more, visit pixii.com.au/