Aldi UK Urges Supermarkets to Provide Free Period Products

Aldi UK and the menstrual equity charity Freedom4Girls have launched a campaign urging major British supermarkets to provide free period products in customer and colleague toilets. The two organizations jointly wrote to the chief executives of competing grocery chains, encouraging them to make pads and tampons available without requiring loyalty schemes or code words.

Aldi became the first UK supermarket to implement this policy in March 2025 and has since distributed one million free products through its facilities. The company also maintains in-store donation points that distribute products to food banks and charities via the community partner Neighbourly, and has donated an additional one million products through various charity partnerships.

The campaign follows an Aldi-commissioned survey of 2,000 shoppers, which found that 67% of participants believe supermarkets should provide these products and 75% view them as everyday bathroom essentials similar to soap and toilet paper. In the south west, 69% of shoppers expressed support for the initiative.

Chief Commercial Officer Julie Ashfield stated that access to these products should be a basic right rather than a privilege. Freedom4Girls founder Tina Leslie MBE noted that period poverty remains a significant issue in the UK and called for more retailers to take action to reduce social stigma and improve discreet access to essential hygiene products.