18 - Sustainable Menstrual Equity for $5: Low-Cost Menstrual Cup Distribution Among a University Community

Background: After successfully providing free menstrual products in all restrooms, our library’s Access Services supervisors partnered with five undergraduate student advocates and submitted for a $10,000 sustainability grant to distribute menstrual cups – a sustainable, reusable alternative to disposable tampons or pads. The project was funded, and using research, social media marketing, online sales, and tabling events, we have distributed over 400 menstrual cups to date, at $5 each to our campus community. We have funding to distribute another 400 this year and close out the grant.

Description: Over half of the world’s population menstruates, and yet the health products necessary for menstruation are not easily available and are prohibitively expensive (“pink tax”). Applying to our institution's Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund grant, we were awarded $10,000 to provide menstrual cups for $5 to our campus community. We chose the company Dot Cup, for their business model of freely distributing cups to organizations in need and experience working with universities. Our team of health sciences library staff and students worked together to provide data and research to receive the grant, created an Instagram marketing campaign, and provided online and in-person purchasing options. Popularity for affordable menstrual cups was overwhelming: nearly 200 cups were sold during a 2-hour tabling event. COVID-19 and supply chain manufacturing has delayed the completion of our program, but we anticipate completion by end of 2022.

Conclusion: The demand for menstrual cups is demonstrably very high, but prohibitively expensive (average $40). They are also not offered for purchase in most menstrual product aisles. There is apprehension among first-time users, specifically around concerns they will not like a product they spent $40 acquiring. The $5 price, rather than making them free, gave the items a psychological value while still being inexpensive enough to allow interested people a low-stakes ability to try one. And the $5 collected, was pooled into the grant money and used to purchase more menstrual cups. If financially possible, we would continue this program until everyone who was curious was able to gain access to a menstrual cup.