Say pants to the tax: petition calling on government to remove vat from period pants surpasses 10,000 signatures in 24 hours

• At 10,000 signatures, it means the petition requires a response from Government  

• Public letter which calls upon the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, to reclassify period pants as a period product in this year’s Autumn Statement now has nearly 60 signatories  

Today, Marks & Spencer and period pants brand, WUKA, with support from MPs, peers, businesses, and charities, have reached more than 10,000 signatures (12,250) on a petition that calls on the Government to level the playing field on period products by making period pants exempt from VAT. 

Since launching Say Pants to the Tax yesterday, a public letter to Victoria Atkins, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, has the backing of 58 signatories, including MPs and peers of all parties and charities Wellbeing of Women and Bloody Good Period, as well as public backing for the campaign from A Plastic Planet, Action Aid UK and Paula Sherriff, the former Shadow Women and Equalities Minister and who led the original ‘Tampon Tax’ campaign.  

Victoria McKenzie-Gould, Corporate Affairs Director at M&S, said: “Together with our friends at WUKA and all our co-signatories, a big thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign getting us over the10,000 signatures mark in just 24 hours. The Government did a great job in 2021 in removing VAT from single use period products and we’re confident that they will now finish the job and include reusable period pants. Of course, the campaign doesn’t end here and our next goal is 100,000 signatures – so our ask today is for everyone to add their voice to the overwhelming support we’ve already seen.” 

Ruby, CEO & Founder at WUKA, said: "The support over the last few days has been fantastic and helped us reach the 10K signatures goal. However, for this petition to be considered for debate in parliament, we now need to reach 100K. We urge everyone- brands, media outlets, communities- to share this petition far and wide to help us achieve this result.” 

Find out more about the campaign and where to sign the petition here. Imagery can be downloaded here. The campaign will be live in stores from Tuesday 15th August.  

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