It’s been a week since LOLA and Period Equity announced we’re joining forces in a legal fight to end the tampon tax in the U.S. The response to our campaign, Tax Free. Period., has been tremendous so far. Thousands of you have already pledged to stand with us, and taken to social media to spread the word:

And this is just the beginning. We asked the faces behind the campaign — LOLA co-founders Jordana Kier and Alex Friedman, and Period Equity co-founders Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Laura Strausfeld — to sit down to discuss the tampon tax, why it needs to be eliminated, and what you (yes, you!) can do to help.

Read the full interview here:

Jordana: Hey, everyone! We are here at LOLA HQ. Today is a super exciting day. We've launched Tax Free. Period. in conjunction with our friends over at Period Equity, which is the nation's first law and policy organization committed to fighting for menstrual equity. We're super excited to have Jen and Laura, the co-founders of Period Equity, here with us today to do a little bit of tampon tax 101.

Alex: So, to start: what is the tampon tax?

Jennifer: States have the opportunity to exempt certain necessary items from sales tax: food and prescription medications are often the things that they choose. In 35 of the 50 states right now, menstrual products — female tampons and female pads — don't make the cut, and therefore are not exempt from sales tax.

Alex: You first coined the phrase “menstrual equity” in your book. What is menstrual equity?

Jennifer: Menstrual equity is a broader policy frame in which the tampon tax, and advocacy to remove it, exists. It's this idea that without access to affordable or safe menstrual products or information people are really at a disadvantage, and perhaps even unable to participate equitably and fully in daily life...whether it's going to school, being part of the economy. So that is sort of this broader frame of equitable access to menstrual products.

Jordana: You both have been such loud advocates for menstrual equity, but specifically the tampon tax. What makes Tax Free. Period. a different campaign than the other ones out there?

Laura: Well, I think we've established that the tampon tax is absolutely unfair. But it's also illegal, discriminatory, and unconstitutional. We are ready to test that legally. We really believe that the tampon tax should be eliminated in a year, and we're putting states on notice that we're serious about this.

Jordana: What can the LOLA community do to get involved?

Laura: The LOLA community can visit taxfreeperiod.com.

Jennifer: And they can rally everybody! Tell your friends it’s time to take down the tampon tax.

Alex: Yes! So, in sum, please join us at taxfreeperiod.com. Tweet at your governors. Join us for this fight. There's no reason why we should get taxed on our periods anymore.

Jennifer: By Tax Day 2020, the tampon tax is gone.

You can help eliminate the tampon tax. Visit taxfreeperiod.com to take the pledge.

Tag: tax free period

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