Period equity for all - No one should be held back because of their body doing what it is designed to do.
Reemi’s work centres on making periods equitable for all. By partnering with Reemi, we are able to have a greater impact in improving the daily lives of our garment workers. With a combined passion for health education and addressing women’s empowerment, Reemi strive to break the cycle and create change to women’s health and wellbeing in the global garment industry with a focus on women's health, providing educational and sustainable products that work for all cultures.
The Big Issues
Inaccessability
Inaccessability and unaffordability of safe, hygienic menstrual products
Stigma
Shame, stigma and cultural taboos impacting wellness of garment workers
Reduced Income
Reduced worker income from absenteeism during menstruation
Independent & empowered women
For approximately 80% of Bangladeshi women, inaccessibility, affordability, cultural taboos and lack of education get in the way of their ability to use clean, safe sanitary products. The inadequate waste infrastructure, as well as the taboo nature of seeing and touching menstrual blood, also make waste disposal an issue. Women often throw pads out the window, use their feet to wash the cloth, then hide them to dry under their beds, flush them down toilets or even bury them at night. The impacts of these barriers on women are damaging: high infection rates, poor health, absence at work, and shame.
Improved education and accessibility
Given the cultural sensitivities, a topic such as periods requires proper education, delivered with care and consideration. This is where Reemi comes in, not only providing reusable period products to the women who make up 80% of our supplier factories’ workforce, but also providing the education needed to break taboos and facilitate change. These conversations have a vital trickle down effect, with more menstrual education being passed from mothers to daughters.
The impact
As part of our commitment to investing in and working alongside our factories to improve working conditions, we’ve given Reemi full access to the factories we partner with, helping them support more women and further their impact. The research Reemi has conducted in AS Colour factories has drawn out important data that helps Reemi find solutions that actually work for the people we’re aiming to support. Research by the University of Munich has proven that Reemi’s approach of bringing women together to share their experiences was enough of an intervention to break some strong cultural stigmas. In 2023 our third Reemi program expanded to include men in the education and survey process, with an overwhelmingly positive response, further breaking down cultural taboos.
Together with Reemi, we aim to support 12,500 more women in the factories we work with over the next few years.
Reemi's Impact
Reduced hygiene risks and alleviated fears and anxiety through access to menstrual products. More than 6000 women supported through education and products.
Facilitating a safe space for education to support women and reduce stigma. Two education and research programs supported in AS Colour factories.
Providing reusable period products to factory workers in Bangladesh. All women at three of AS Colours factories have received period products.
Want to dig deeper?
Partnerships:
I Am Hope
We partnered with I Am Hope, who's mission is to positively change the youth mental health conversation across New Zealand
Production FAQ
In a world where it’s easy to profess to ethical and sustainable standards, it’s important to us to actually be transparent about how we work, who we work with and how we support more vulnerable stakeholders in the supply chain.
Code of Conduct
If you care for your garments, and extend their life by as little as nine months, you can reduce their carbon footprint by around 20 – 30 percent. Here’s a few simple tips and tricks to help you maximise the life of your garments.