I have joined the campaign led by M&S and WUKA to urge the Chancellor to remove VAT from period pants
Final push from campaign that brings together politicians, retailers, charities, business leaders and celebrities meeting one week before the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement due on 22 November
Consumers currently pay a 20% tax on period pants as they are classified as garments
Other period products such as pads, tampons and menstrual cups are exempt from VAT
M&S has pledged to pass the entirety of the cost saving onto customers
Why I am saying Pants To the Tax this week – joining a coalition of retailers, NGOs, period pants brands and politicians across all political parties to call for the Government to remove the 20 per cent VAT that applies to period pants.
The Chancellor has already accepted the logic of removing VAT on sanitary products, so it’s only right that he extends that VAT cut to period pants. They are essential for many women and girls and have the bonus of being better for the environment than disposable products. I’m proud to stand with the campaign to Say Pants to the Tax!”
Victoria McKenzie-Gould, Corporate Affairs Director at M&S added: “Our campaign has had huge support from a breadth of politicians, retailers, charities, and business leaders – all asking for the Government to level the playing field on period products. Just one week away from the Autumn Statement - we urge the Chancellor to do the right thing and make this official legislation. It’s a tiny percentage of the Government’s budget but a change that will make a big difference to women’s budgets across the country.
The Westminster meet-up comes one week ahead of the Autumn Statement on the 22nd November and is the culmination of Say Pants to the Tax - a campaign that M&S and period pants brand, WUKA launched in August and is backed by a parliamentary petition that accumulated more than 36,000 signatures.
In October, supporters of Say Pants to the Tax also visited Downing Street to deliver a letter amassing more than 70 signatories including – the UK’s top five knicker retailers, M&S Primark, George at Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, charities including Wellbeing of Women, Freedom4Girls, Bloody Good Period, A Plastic Planet and MPs and peers across all parties also signed the letter.
In 2021, the Government removed the ‘Tampon Tax’ and products – such as tampons, pads, and menstrual cups – stopped incurring VAT. But under current VAT rules, period pants are classified as garments and therefore subject to a tax rate of 20%. M&S and WUKA customers alone have paid more than £3 million in VAT on period pants.
A reusable period product, period pants can be worn, washed, and worn again, month after month which means they can save consumers money and help reduce plastic waste too (WUKA estimates that one pair of period pants can save 200 single-use plastic disposables from going to landfill).
In September, M&S pledged to pass the entirety of the cost saving onto customers which means a three pack of period knickers that currently retail at £20 has a lower price of £16, until the government commits to Say Pants to the Tax.
