Hey Girls

Hey Girls, a Scottish-based social enterprise for period products

Hey Girls is a female-led social enterprise that sells period products and directs 100% of its profits to tackling period poverty in the UK. The company presents itself as a shareholder-free structure, certified by Social Enterprise UK, and states it has donated over 50 million period products. Its business model is based on selling products — both disposable and reusable — and fully reinvesting profits into its social mission.

Origins and journey

The company was founded in 2018 by Celia Hodson, OBE, together with her daughters Bec and Kate, following a personal experience of period poverty when Celia was a single mother. The name comes from the greeting Celia used with her daughters. According to the company itself, it has received more awards than any other social enterprise in the sector and describes itself as an internationally recognised initiative. The website includes a timeline of milestones since its creation.

Product catalogue

Hey Girls' catalogue covers several categories of period and intimate health management products:

• Period pants
• Pads and tampons
• Menstrual cups
• Period kits
• Reusable products
• Bladder control products

The company describes its products as eco-friendly, organic as standard and aimed at reducing waste. It also sells subscriptions with regular delivery of sustainable products.

Grab & Go Period Kits and collaboration with Sunny Dancer

Hey Girls has launched the Grab & Go Period Kits in collaboration with the film Sunny Dancer. Each kit includes pads, tampons, a cork wet bag and a bamboo torch, designed for nighttime situations. For every kit sold, the company provides free period products to people who need them.

Programmes for businesses and the public sector

The company offers solutions for workplace environments, with products and bundles designed for office bathrooms, site cabins, staff rooms and other spaces. It also works with schools, local authorities, businesses and distributors, and provides free training on period and menopause inclusion in the workplace. Its services for the public sector include Home Packs, bundles of period products that local authorities, public sector teams and businesses can deliver directly to people's homes: recipients request them free of charge through a private website and the company sends them discreetly.

Social impact and community partnerships

Hey Girls works with over 400 frontline organisations, such as food banks, women's refuges and shelters, to distribute period products without red tape, stigma or shame. Its community partners include Buddy Bag Foundation, LATNEM Mental Health Support and Endometriosis South Coast. The company has also developed, together with My Period, an app to locate free period products, with almost 2,000 locations registered in Scotland and plans to expand to the rest of the UK.

Certification and structure

Hey Girls operates as a Community Interest Company (CIC) and is certified by Social Enterprise UK. Its legal structure prioritises social purpose over private profit, with no shareholders, and reinvests all its earnings in the fight against period poverty in the UK.