Last August, East Midlands Railway (EMR) launched a period dignity scheme, since when the company has handed out over 240 free sanitary products to customers.

All that a customer needs to do to obtain one of the products is to ask a member of staff or use the phrase ‘Package for Sandy’ at the supervisor’s office to be given a pack discreetly.

All the sanitary products are carbon-neutral and designed to reduce plastic waste. They are currently available at Derby, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, and Kettering railway stations.

The scheme aims to support customers who may not have immediate access to the products when they need them, particularly during out-of-hours when retailers may be closed.

In the six months six the scheme’s launch last August, hundreds of customers have benefitted from the free products, either by asking a member of station staff directly or by visiting a supervisor’s office and using the code phrases ‘Package for Sandy’ or ‘Ask for Sandy’.

East Midlands Railway is working on the scheme with TOTM, an award-winning period care brand that supplies sustainable menstrual products. The products handed out to customers are made with certified organic cotton, which, unlike conventional cotton, is grown without the use of toxic, synthetic pesticides and uses sustainable farming methods.

To reduce plastic, the applicators are made from biodegradable cardboard instead of plastic or plant-based versions, which can take up to 500 years to decompose, the same as for conventional carrier bags.

East Midlands Railway’s Women’s Employee Network came up with the idea to hand out free sanitary products. Network is a staff group that aims to improve women’s experiences when they travel by train. The group has also recently launched a scheme that will donate 100 period products to local food banks and a similar scheme for the provision of free sanitary products for the railway’s staff.

Charlotte Bishop, who is an Internal Communications Business Partner at East Midlands Railway and the lead of the company’s Women’s Employee Network said: “We are delighted that since the launch of the period dignity scheme, it has been accessed by so many people.

“While periods are part of everyday life, some people can feel stigmatised by their effects or by the subject. Small gestures like this can make a big difference in people’s wellbeing and comfort.”