RNZB Becomes Hello Period's Inaugural 'Bloody Good Workplace'
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) has become award-winning sustainable period company Hello Period’s inaugural Bloody Good Workplace.
The Bloody Good Workplace programme aims to destigmatise workplace period experiences. By partnering with Hello Period, employers are supported in caring for their employees who menstruate and ensuring they have access to high quality, sustainable period products to help relieve anxiety around their monthly cycles.
Being a Bloody Good Workplace means Hello Period becomes the RNZB’s official provider of sustainable period care, and the organisations will work together to raise awareness of the importance of period support for employees.
RNZB Director of People and Culture Sarah Griffiths says, “Workplaces can be environments in which employees who menstruate feel vulnerable, disadvantaged, or quietly suffer because of the stigma around monthly periods. Given the nature of our business, everyone can find themselves working long hours, either on the stage or behind the scenes, and the dancers’ work involves performing in front of thousands of people, thus managing periods can become problematic. Hello Period products will provide our staff with a level of comfort and confidence when having their periods, and the RNZB is fully behind this brilliant partnership with a similarly pioneering New Zealand organisation.”
RNZB’s Hello Period Ambassador, Soloist Ana Gallardo Lobaina, says, "When people from overseas ask me to describe Kiwis, I always say they care about each other and the impact their actions have on the future of our planet. Collaborating with Hello Period is the most exciting marriage of two things that mean a lot to me - actively caring for the environment and taking steps towards making life easier for all women, especially athletes. I'm honoured and thrilled to be Hello Period’s inaugural Bloody Good Workplace ambassador!”
Hello Period Co-founder and Marketing Director, Robyn McLean says, “The reality is, fifty percent of people menstruate for around 35 years and, while every individual’s period experience is unique and subjective, when there is a chance that half of your workforce could be suffering, feeling vulnerable or discriminated against, are taking their already limited sick leave to support themselves at home, or impacting the environment by using non-sustainable period products, we think workplace period care is an important issue.
“Sustainable products last for years, provide greater security than single use tampons and pads due to their increased capacity, and don’t clog the plumbing. We approached the RNZB because we felt the organisation would have an interesting and aligned view on the importance of individualised period care and, as a company which tours and performs, we felt period confidence would be a pertinent issue. We are delighted that they agreed – with alacrity – and have joined us on this important mission.”