Marks & Spencer calls on government to end VAT on period pants

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Marks & Spencer has urged the government to remove VAT applied to period pants and has launched a petition for a parliamentary debate on the issue.

M&S period pants tax campaign

M&S has called for the removal of VAT on period pants

Marks & Spencer and period pants brand WUKA said the use of period pants would save customers money and reduce single-use plastic. However, the fact that VAT is imposed, in contrast to products such as tampons that are exempt, means the cost puts some consumers off.

A letter signed by M&S co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe and 50 other signatories including MPs and campaigners, calls on the financial secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, to reclassify period pants as a period product in this year’s Autumn Statement.

A 20% rate of VAT applies to period pants because they are classified as garments. M&S said its and WUKA’s customers alone have paid more than £3m in VAT on period pants since 2021 – when the tax was removed from period products. M&S said it would pass any savings on to customers, which would bring the price of a three-pack of period knickers down from £20 to £16.

According to WUKA, one pair of period pants can save 200 single-use plastic disposables from going to landfill.

A ‘Pants to the Tax’ public petition has been launched. If it gathers 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in parliament.

M&S corporate affairs director Victoria McKenzie-Gould said: “The government made a brilliant start by removing VAT from disposable period products, but we need them to finish the job and level the playing field so that whatever period product someone chooses to use, it is VAT free. Nearly 25% of women cite cost as a barrier to using period pants. If they were classified as they should be – as a period product – the government can make this brilliant alternative to disposable products a more cost-effective option for UK consumers.”

M&S lingerie director Laura Charles said: “As the UK’s biggest knicker retailer, we want to do something about the VAT that our customers pay on period pants. Over the past few years, our customers have paid over £1.5 million in tax but if this tax is removed, we can pass the entirety of the cost saving onto our customers.”