Burlington business makes bracelets to support menstrual equity

A campaign to raise awareness and encourage small businesses to support The Period Purse has kicked off ahead of International Women’s Day. Monica Graves joined us this morning to tell us more about The Maxi Drive. 

Graves’ is the owner of glamjulz, which sells stylish and affordable jewelry. Her good friends, Sarah and Trina Turl have started The Maxi Drive, which is a campaign to raise awareness and get other small businesses to make donations to support The Period Purse in advance of International Women’s Day.

The Period Purse is a national organization that strives to achieve menstrual equity and reduce the stigma surrounding periods. The Maxi Drive is raising money and collecting period products to put in the Period Purse.

“I really wanted to hop on and support this,” said Graves. “What I have done is I designed a bracelet which has 28 beads to represent the menstrual cycle, with a little red bead right at the end, the period.”

The bracelet costs $35 and for every 10 sold, Graves says one person will be supported for an entire year with period products. 

“We really want to send a message to stop this stigma and just prevent anyone from feeling ashamed or even uneducated,” said Graves. 

Jana Girdauskas launched The Period Purse in 2017. She questioned what a homeless person would do during menstruation. She was then compelled to fill one purse with menstrual products and other wellness items. She eventually asked a local Facebook group if anyone had a spare “period purse” to share.

Within a month, she received 350 purses filled with donated products. Now, the Period Purse is the first and only Canadian registered charity to deal with menstrual equity. 

You can buy a bracelet to support glamjulz and The Maxi Drive on Graves’ website.