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, reusable pads, menstrual cups 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.
- We currently offer high-waisted, midi, and boxer styles
- Pads - Hey Girls -Reusable Pads
- We offer both medium and heavy flow options (pack of 5)
- 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
- This is an accessory for a menstrual cup to help sterilise it after use. Only order this if you already have a cup.
The trial is currently closed for this academic year. It will reopen for the 26/27 academic year in September.
How it works:
Signing up:
- Sign up via this form (opens September 2026)
- Put in your contact information and choose the reusable product you would like
Ordering
- The Community Projects Co-ordinator (Welfare) will buy your chosen product once there are enough sign-ups to place a new order
- We cannot provide an accurate timescale for this as it depends on the number of new orders, and how busy the team is. We appreciate your understanding
- Once the orders have been delivered to our office, they will be sent to the requested campus for collection
- An email to confirm your product is ready for collection will be sent
Collection
- You will be given 4 weeks to collect your product. After this, it is returned to our stock and may be given to somebody else
- If you need to request a collection date after the date given, you can request this by replying to your collection email
- Upon collection, please leave your full name with a member of staff
Feedback
- 4 weeks after the product has been collected, you will be sent a feedback form. This feedback allows us to gather data on the impact of the trial and make changes in the future, and keep the trial going for future years.
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.