The National Trust is under fire for putting vegan tampons in men’s lavatories, dispensing them from a large box fixed to the wall near the urinals with the message: “Got a period situation going on? We got you.” The Telegraph has more.
The charity is providing the sanitary products in men’s toilets at Sizergh Castle, near Lake Windermere in the Lake District.
A large box fixed to the wall offers free tampons near the urinals, emblazoned with the wording: “Got a period situation going on? We got you”. Nearby is a disposal bin featuring a male icon.
One 79 year-old visitor to the stately home said he was “confused” to find the menstruation paraphernalia.
He said: “Entering the male-only designated toilet, I was confused. Pads and tampons were provided, plus a male disposal bin. There was a female-only toilet nearby, and both male and female facilities [were] clearly marked with a male figure and a female figure… not unisex facilities.
“As a man, I appreciate the prostate bins in the men’s toilet and pads for men, but having gone and used the urinal, I then turned around and I was facing a green bin saying something like: ‘Are you having period problems?’
“And I went outside and put my head outside the door. I wanted to check if I had used the wrong toilet. I was confused and it led to a great deal of discussion with my wife and friends as to why tampons and pads were put into the gents. I think it needs explaining as to what this policy means.”
The tampon box is provided by Dame, which specialises in sustainable period products and claims that nothing used in the making of its products is animal-derived.
The National Trust announced a partnership with the company in September, saying at the time it would allow the trust “to deliver period dignity sensitively, sustainably and with a distinct aesthetic in keeping with our unique spaces”.
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