Want to try a free, reusable product?

Introduction to the sustainable period product trial

For the last few academic years, The Students’ Union has worked hard to make sustainable period products more accessible to students by running a free sustainable period product trial. This trial gives the opportunity to all UWE Bristol students and staff to receive a free reusable period product of their choice. The aim of this project is to spread awareness of reusable and more sustainable period products, give students a risk-free opportunity to trial products and remove the barrier of cost.

The products available this year are: period pants, menstrual cups, reusable pads or a menstrual cup sterilising pot. You can read about each of these products and how to use/wash them here.

Below is a list of products and their suppliers that we currently offer for the trial:

• Period pants - WUKA.
  • These come in high-waisted, hipster, bikini, midi, and boxer styles 
• Pads - Hey Girls -Reusable Pads
  • ​These come in medium and heavy flow
• Menstrual cups - Hey Girls - Period Cups
  • These come in small and large - the size you need depends on age and whether you have given birth vaginally
• Menstrual cup sterilisers - Hey Girls - Sterilising Pot

Sign up to this years trial here 

This years trial will finish on the 5th of May 2026.

How it works:

Signing up:

• Students/staff sign up via this form
• They put in their contact information and choose the reusable product they would like.

Ordering

• The Community Projects Co-ordinator (Welfare) orders the chosen products. Orders are aimed to be sorted through on a weekly basis, during busier periods in the year, this can take two - four weeks.
• Once these have been delivered, they are assigned to the individual student/staff member and sent to the correct collection site.
• A ‘collection notification’ email is sent.

Collection

• The student/staff member is given up to 4 weeks to collect their product. After this it is returned to our stock and could be given to somebody else.

• Upon collection, the student/staff member must scan a QR code and input their name.

Feedback

• 4 weeks after the product has been collected, the student/staff member is sent a feedback form. This feedback allows us to gather data on the impact of the trial and make changes in the future.

For information on how the trial went in 2022-2023, please read our news article here.

Student feedback from previous trials:

'I really enjoyed being able to try a sustainable period product without the upfront costs - thank you for providing this great opportunity'

'This was a great opportunity for me to try out period pants, I have always wanted to but could not afford them, I will be buying another two pairs so I can use them for the duration of my period. Thank you so much!'

'This trial has been a great way to try out a new period product. Now I know how reliable the cup is I will be purchasing more!'

Two members of the sustainability committee have reviewed their experience of trying reusable underwear and menstrual cup, in this blog.