Fake Cereal Brand Utilises a Loophole to Tackle Period Poverty in the US

It’s 2022 and period poverty still exists.

Let’s get real with facts:

- Nearly 1 in 4 menstruators have struggled to access period care products. 

- Over 80% of teens polled say they have missed school, or know someone else who has, because of their period.

As there is no major federal funding, millions of families are forced to choose between putting food on the table or putting period care products in their bathroom cabinets.

Outrageous. 

Beginning today on International Women’s Day (March 8) creative agency 72andSunny New York is taking a stand with Loopholes, a fictional cereal brand where the 'prize' in each box isn’t a toy, but a cycle’s worth of tampons and pads. Because food is SNAP-eligible, they found a way to make period care products accessible to people who otherwise couldn’t access or afford them. Thus, the Loophole. 

Made in partnership with nonprofits PERIOD., Free the Period, Ignite, No More Secrets and The Flow Initiative, sustainable period care brand, August, and plant-based cereal brand, OffLimits, Loopholes puts the severity of period poverty on people’s radar and directly calls on politicians and influencers to support the Menstrual Equity For All Act. Through a series of films, social assets and ongoing activations including a panel at SXSW and influencer campaign to bring the concept of period poverty and a (satirical) solution of Loopholes cereal to life. 

“Period products are as necessary as toilet paper and food. Not having access to them has lasting consequences. This is not just an issue for those of us who menstruate. It leads to missed days of school, it affects job performance, and leads to physical and mental hardships. It touches entire families. The solution is not a mystery. It’s time to address this ridiculous inequity and put an end to it once and for all,” said Elaine Cox, executive creative director, 72andSunny New York.    

“It’s a travesty that period poverty is happening in this country and happening at such a large scale. We hope that ‘Loopholes’ can bring awareness to this issue and drive real, meaningful change through support of the Menstrual Equity for All act,” said Anne Marie Wonder and Emily Hovis, Sr. creative team, 72andSunny New York.

"Access to Period products is a matter of human rights, especially as these products are used monthly by over half the US population. We need national policy change to address systemic period poverty, including the ability to use public benefits to purchase products. Everyone deserves to live a full life, regardless of a natural need. Period," says Michela Bedard, executive pirector, PERIOD.

“As a period brand, it's our responsibility to use our platform to fight for a more positive vision of periods, and that includes advocating for more equitable access to period care. We were excited to participate in this campaign, because it highlights the ridiculousness of how our society thinks of period care. It's 2022, and yet the majority of US states still have the 'tampon tax' — an unfair added sales tax on period care considering tampons and pads non-essential goods, meanwhile products like rogaine and viagra are considered medical necessities. Menstrual products are necessities, and just as financial assistance programs cover necessities like snacks, food, cereal…they should also cover period products! At August we believe that it is our responsibility as a business to center impact and social change in our mission, and that's why we're a tax-free period brand, and why we donate to our nonprofit partner, No More Secrets, with every single new subscriber we add to our community.” – Nadya Okamoto, Co-Founder, August.

Urging all outraged to get involved by visiting LoopholesCereal.com to directly send a message to their representative asking for their support for the Menstrual Equity For All Act and to make an immediate impact by donating supplies to non-profit organizations to get them in the hands of those who need it most.