Aldi joins Asda and Boots in renaming its ‘feminine hygiene’ aisles to ‘period products’

Aldi has announced that it has renamed the “feminine hygiene” category on its website and in its stores.

The German discount supermarket chain has renamed aisles containing items such as sanitary towels, panty liners and tampons to “period products”.

According to John Curtin, who is Aldi’s Group Buying Director, the move will “better reflect how shoppers feel about period products”.

Asda and Boots have also renamed the aisles containing their feminine hygiene products as brands increasingly work towards breaking the stigma surrounding periods and try to become more inclusive.

“We’re proud to have made this change in our stores to better reflect shoppers’ attitudes around period products,” an Asda spokesperson added.

Thousands of Facebook users have taken to the social media platform to voice their opinion on the change.

Welcoming Aldi’s aisles being renamed, one person wrote: “That’s great. Period products is what they are 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think this will help to remove the stigma around menstruation and make it less of a taboo subject.”

Another said: “I actually quite like this. The word ‘period’ has almost been viewed as a dirty word not to be used in polite society, and ‘feminine hygiene’ feels like a euphemism. They ARE period products and they should’ve been called that from the very beginning.”

A third added: “In all honesty, regardless of your opinions on inclusivity. Calling them Period Products or Menstrual products is a lot more precise and destigmatizing of a perfectly normal bodily function. Feminine hygiene always felt a little coy and shameful. A little hush hush. Just my opinion though.”

However, other social media users have been left unimpressed and are accusing Aldi of “virtue signalling”.

Gabby Edlin is the founder of Bloody Good Period, a charity which fights for “menstrual equity and the rights of all people who bleed”.

The Independent reported Gabby’s views on the announcement: “This new name/announcement displays an inclusive attitude to gender with periods, which is so important to make sure everybody is able to talk about periods.

"It also removes the stigma of periods being dirty, or something we need to hide away or not talk about.

"Having very matter of fact period products rather than ‘feminine hygiene’ tells you what it is, with no euphemism to hide behind, and no shame or stigma."