Tesco becomes first retailer to cover period pant VAT

Tesco has reportedly become the first retailer to cover the cost of VAT on its period pant offering as part of a campaign from retailers to convince the government to class the product under the same category as menstrual products, according to City AM.

According to reports, from today (21 August) Tesco has reduced the price of its period pants by 20% – the current cost of VAT in the UK.

It comes as M&S and Wuka launch a joint campaign called ‘Say Pants to the Tax’ which includes a petition that currently has over 22,000 signatures.

While sanitary products have been VAT free since 2021, the government classes period pants as a garment and therefore remains taxed like regular clothing.

Christine Heffernan, communications director at Tesco, told City AM: “We know that the cost of buying essential period products can be a real struggle for many people.

“And we want to do our bit to help by covering the cost of VAT on period pants, helping to make this more sustainable option more affordable for customers.”

Victoria McKenzie-Gould, corporate affairs director at M&S, said: “We’ve been blown away by the response to this campaign. More than 20,000 people have added their name to the petition and dozens of supporters have signed the open letter urging the government to remove the VAT from period pants. And now with Primark and Tesco coming on board we can reach even more people to ask them to Say Pants to the Tax.

“Like ourselves and WUKA, Primark and Tesco have committed to passing on the cost saving to customers. Building such strong support in just one week must show the Government that making this simple change is important to people across the UK. Our next goal is 100,000 signatures and we’re continuing to ask everyone to add their voice to the overwhelming support we’ve already seen.”