Period Dignity: New College Lanarkshire

New College Lanarkshire (NCL) is one of Scotland’s largest colleges, with a diverse student body of over 10,000 individuals ^[1].

A vital part of the college’s mission statement focuses on sustainability and its continued commitment to student welfare, with a focus on students currently experiencing Period Poverty.

Period Poverty is a global issue affecting those who don’t have access to the safe, hygienic period products they need, and/or who are unable to manage their periods with dignity, sometimes due to community stigma and sanction ^[2].

It doesn't just refer to those without access to period products; in some cases, limited access to these products leads to prolonged use of the same tampons or pads, which can cause infection ^[3].

Banner has worked in partnership with NCL and leading manufacturers, including Unicorn Cup, to provide students with a wide range of sustainable and reusable period products. This is in conjunction with continued training, support and education to the student community around menstrual health and what benefits and impacts the different options of period care can bring.

With Banner’s support, the supply of period products has been transformational within the college.

Challenge

Alongside NCL’s long-term commitment to sustainability and welfare, Period Poverty is a key priority for the Scottish Government who in 2017, brought in the Period Products Act to provide free items such as tampons and sanitary pads to "anyone who needs them ^[4]." 

In addition to this, non-sustainable single-use menstrual products also have a substantial negative impact on the environment in terms of waste and pollution. A menstruating person in the UK throughout their lifetime will typically use 11,000 disposable period products, most of which will be made from 90% plastic and can take 1,000 years to decompose ^[5].

NCL now needed a platform to provide accessible and free products to all students who need them. After coming to the end of their existing supplier contract in 2023, the college was looking to extend their offering into sustainable and reusable period products.

On top of this, as part of NCL’s Statement of Intent, they promise to provide education alongside the product, allowing students to enhance their knowledge and understanding in a safe environment. This created a need for the college to gain reliable access to the most up-to-date data to ensure they are providing accurate advice on such an important subject.

Solution

At Banner, we are committed to meeting the UK’s menstrual hygiene care needs through innovative and sustainable period products and solutions. Supporting individuals to get the right product for them is a core part of what we offer.

As part of our extensive Cleaning & Hygiene range, we have ethically sourced a range of menstrual hygiene products, including organic and reusable products, designed for inclusivity, equality, and sustainability.

After successfully piloting Banner and Unicorn Cup through a series of pop-up stalls within its campuses, allowing students to engage, interact and learn important information about period care, the college received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

This feedback gave NCL confidence to place an order with Banner through APUC’S JAN1011 AP: Cleaning & Janitorial Products Framework, enabling it to consistently and reliably provide access to these essential products to its students.

The ability to consolidate its period product range is crucial for the college. Sourcing products from one supplier provides a reduction in hidden costs, a more efficient procurement process and a more sustainable way of working.

Banner is also fully committed to the continued education and training of its customers and end-users, allowing them to benefit from up-to-date knowledge and insights. Banner and Unicorn Cup have continued supporting NCL to educate its students on period care, free of charge, through pop-ups, class talks and tutorials.

Result

Thanks to Banner’s extensive range, NCL can now provide a range of sustainable and reusable products to its students. This includes introducing sustainable single-use period products in the ladies, gender-neutral and disabled toilets on all campuses. These single-use alternatives are all-natural, plant-based products made from natural organic cotton and packaged in 100% recyclable cardboard.

On top of this, by switching to Banner’s alternative sustainable options, NCL have been able to take vital steps towards their sustainability goals. This includes a significant waste reduction, indicated by the graph below, made possible by a massive 81% reduction in total units required. Furthermore, by utilising reusable options over 5 years, the spend on Period Products per user will drop an amazing 48%^[6]!

Kirsteen Morrison, UCAS and Student Advisor Administrator, said: “Here at NCL, student wellbeing and wellness are paramount to a positive college experience. We worked closely with Banner to ensure they understood our requirements to ensure our period products and the educational support met every aspect of our overall mission.

"The supply of period products has been transformational and we’ve had great support from Banner in working collaboratively to understand the needs and concerns of our student base, including those experiencing period poverty."

Jim O’Hara, Business Development Manager at Banner, has worked closely with the college to create this tailored period products solution. He said: “It was clear from very early conversations with NCL, that their core mission and values matched with Banner’s, allowing us to work closely together to create a core range of products that met their requirements.

We have enjoyed engaging with students, allowing us to understand their level of knowledge on period care and what factors matter most to them when choosing their period product.”

NCL also continues to receive amazing feedback on the products and the education they receive:

“We found the menstrual cup presentation very engaging and inclusive of all genders. Every leaflet also gave us access to valuable information in the comfort of our own home.”

“We learned so much that we didn’t learn in School. I enjoyed learning more about my body, sexual health etc., we were given free products as well as a talk on everything else. Questions were asked and the answers that were given were very detailed and very interesting.”

“I really enjoyed learning about the product. It was very informative and I didn’t lose focus at all. I was very intrigued at how these things work and I learned things about my own body that I didn’t know.”

Sources: 1. Corporate - New College Lanarkshire | New College Lanarkshire (nclanarkshire.ac.uk) 2. Period poverty | ActionAid UK 3. Puberty education & menstrual hygiene management - UNESCO Digital Library 4. Period poverty: Scotland first in the world to make period products free - BBC News 5. https://www.wen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Fact-Sheet-Environmenstrual.pdf  6. Graphic Sources 

Customer background information

New College Lanarkshire

New College Lanarkshire is a further education institution in Scotland in North Lanarkshire. The college actively contributes to the advancement of Lanarkshire by delivering exceptional learning opportunities and forging impactful collaborations with the public sector, businesses, and the third sector.

Banner

Supporting individuals to get the right product for them

Banner is the APUC top ranked supplier for Period Dignity products in Higher Education Scotland.

At Banner we are:

• Committed to meeting the UK’s period care needs through innovative and sustainable products and solutions.
  
  
• Supporting individuals to get the right product for them.
  
  
• Continuing to ethically source a wide range of menstrual hygiene products.
  
  
• Our range includes organic and reusable products, designed for inclusivity, equality, and sustainability.

View how else we have supported customers with our Period Products range here.