About

I'm running the Bristol Half Marathon to raise money to support NO MORE TABOO in ending period poverty in Bristol & beyond! Every week I am heading out to run miles with my friend Beth. This will be my first half marathon, ah help! We pass many different women on our runs. Some on their way to work, shopping, picking up their kids from school, some walking their dog and many women like Erin. Erin (37) is staying at a night shelter in Bristol. She has endometriosis and therefore has REALLY painful, heavy periods. She has nowhere to go during the day, can't afford sanitary products and her only option is to sit around on benches to get through the pain, relying on public toilets in cafés.  Please donate to help No More Taboo support women like Erin.  DOWN WITH PERIOD POVERTY! NO MORE TABOO are working to break down big taboos such as:  - MENSTRUAL WASTE. Each pack of pads has the equivalent of 4 carrier bags worth of plastic in it, which takes over 500 years to biodegrade. In a lifetime, each person who menstruates creates 150kg of waste, contaminated with blood which gets sent to landfill. Much of this waste is sent abroad to be sorted by hand. There are currently no regulations over what feminine hygiene companies can put into their products, therefore consumers do not know what chemicals they are putting into their body. - SANITARY PRODUCTS ARE STILL NOT VERY ACCESSIBLE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS IN POVERTY. Why is it only wealthier women have power to maintain their basic hygiene? Why are sanitary products not given freely to those in need? GO GO GO SCOTLAND: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40566524 - COST OF SANITARY PRODUCTS. The average UK woman spends £65-95 per year on sanitary products. That’s over £3500 in their lifetime. Unfortunately, in the UK VAT tax remains at 5% on all sanitary products (including reusable products). Why are sanitary products classed as ‘non-essential, luxury items’ when men’s razors, helicopters and exotic meats are VAT exempt? GO GO GO #EndTamponTax https://www.change.org/p/george-osborne-stop-taxing-periods-period Find out more about No More Taboo here: https://www.nomoretaboo.org/faqs