This week I took a little trip to Liverpool to meet a pretty awe inspiring lady called Charlotte. A couple of weeks ago Charlotte reached out to me to see if I could help spread the word on her amazing company Bloody Project and once she explained the concept of her home grown label I felt compelled to help in any way I could. Bloody Project is a company run by Charlotte and Charlotte alone. It is a T-Shirt brand with the sole aim to help alleviate and eventually put a stop to period poverty. Each T-Shirt is sourced within the UK and each one is designed, printed and sold through Charlotte from her home. On meeting her I couldn't quite comprehend the determination and passion behind Charlotte and her brand. Running a business as a one man band and from your home is one noble challenge but than to do so for such an important cause is a entirely different admirable task.

So let's talk period poverty for a mere moment here. This is a subject we're not tackling enough and from where I'm standing it's an issue which is so easily resolved. I feel so confused as to how this is still happening in a first world country such as the UK with the facts around period poverty making for some very sorry reading. One in Ten teenage girls in the UK can't afford sanitary wear. This is staggering! As a girl myself (in case you hadn't noticed) and with 91% of my readers being lovely ladies I think it's safe we can all empathise with one another on how tedious, often a little inconvenient and slightly crappy periods can make us all feel on a monthly basis, thank you mother nature. But imagine dreading roughly the same date every month because not only do you feel self conscious, bloated, emotional or in pain with crams but because you also point blank could NOT afford to buy the small range of products available to help make this process at all comfort. In my eyes sanitary wear is a basic human right. No ifs, buts or maybes. These products aren't a luxury or something a woman chooses to wear but something she has to wear. It begs the questions why are woman being taxed on an already taxing monthly occurrence? And why are young girls falling victim to inflated prices and taxation on a necessity like sanitary wear?

What's worse is that 12% of these young girls who can't afford sanitary wear are then using alternate methods which are unhygienic and unsafe! How is this not being dealt with? And a byproduct of young girls not being educated efficiently and correctly on periods has sadly resulted in an unnecessary stigma around talking openly about women health. In fact to be more precise 78% of teenage girls in the UK feel embarrassed or uncomfortable simply buying sanitary products never mind talking about them. And a staggering 49% of all young girls miss at least one day of school a year because of their periods. These are all obstacles which could easily be eradicated by the correct support, education and provisions needed. Periods are a fact of life and as much as we've probably wished them away at one point or another, they are simply a regular occurrence we have no choice but to deal with. I just can't comprehend how thousands of young girls around the UK feel like this is something they can't talk about or seek help/advise for?

Luckily there are amazing ladies like Charlotte out there who are trying their damn best to help tackle this issue where they can. 15% of all Bloody Project sales go straight to buying sanitary wear which are then donated to several communities around the UK which help those in need. It's that simple. I can't help but put myself in these girls shoes and want to in some way do my bit because if girls can't support each other than who will? 

You can purchase a T-shirt from Bloody Project and find out more about Charlottes amazing work on the link below:

www.bloodyproject.com

Thanks so much for reading this little rant from me and even bigger thank you to those of you who buy a tee. You're support is awesome!!

Sophia x