Primark and Tesco have joined a campaign started by Marks and Spencer to remove a 20 per cent VAT tax from period underwear.

The government removed the tax on sanitary products in 2021 but period pants are classed as garments and therefore eligible for tax.

Both Primark and Tesco have committed to pass on the cost savings to customers if VAT is removed.

The chief executive of the British Retail Consortium Helen Dickinson has put her name to the campaign and charities including Freedom4Girls and Bloody Good Period are also supporting the move.

More than 22,000 people have signed the petition since it launched last week. Petitions with over 10,000 signatures require a response from the government.

Customers in M&S stores are able to scan a QR code which takes them straight through to sign the petition.

“We believe that period pants should be as affordable and accessible to as many as possible and this small change will make a difference for many of our customers and colleagues,” said Kari Rodgers, Primark UK retail director. “This campaign is about ensuring wherever you shop, you aren’t unfairly penalised when buying period products.”

Christine Heffernana, group communications director for Tesco, said that the cost of buying essential period products can be a “real struggle for many people” and that’s why the supermarket became the first retailer to cover the cost of VAT on period products in 2017.

“We welcomed the government’s decision to abolish the ‘Tampon Tax’ on disposable period products in 2021,” she continued. “We’re now joining M&S and other retailers to urge the Government to do the same for Period Pants helping to make this more sustainable option more affordable for customers.”

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