With the support of a Commissioner’s Period Justice grant, the City of Tea Tree Gully has rolled out their Your Right to Reuse campaign, which aims to inform residents about the social and environmental benefits using re-usable period hygiene products has over disposable ones.
The Council is particularly interested in targeting young people with their messaging and decided to involve fifty Year 10 students from Golden Grove High School to co-create the awareness-raising campaign.
Students attending Golden Grove High School participated in a menstrual education workshop presented in partnership with Taboo, where they were asked what they wanted to know about menstruation, and what they may be too embarrassed to talk about in-person. They were also asked to design posters promoting reusable period products to their peers.
The students’ feedback and poster designs were incorporated into the council’s pocket-sized brochure about the environmental benefits of reusable period products with links to an accompanying FAQ page published on the council’s website.
“I personally think that the presentation covered topics that teenage girls would want to know, for example the myths and questions that are a popular topic of questions.”
– Makayla, 15
The Your Right to Reuse campaign also directs Tea Tree Gully residents to the Council’s reusable period product rebates, entitling residents to refunds of up to $50 to cover 50% of the costs associated with purchasing reusable pads, menstrual cups, period underwear and wet bags for carrying products hygienically.
The new campaign aims to reduce stigma and help normalise periods and when combined with the existing rebate, has the added environmental benefit of potentially reducing the volume of disposable period products ending up in landfill.
In July, the council will be delivering 5000 campaign brochures to students attending schools within the City of Tea Tree Gully area.
“It’s really great to involve students in this campaign because they’re the ones who will benefit from this. Young people are the experts in their own lives; they’re the experts in their own experience of learning about periods and what to do. So it was important for us to talk to young people about what they wanted to learn. I’m really happy we’ve been able to work together with Golden Grove High School to do this.”
– City of Tea Tree Gully Councillor Jessica Hawkvelt
