In December 2023, changes to Canada’s Labour Code introduced requirements for federally regulated employers to provide free menstrual products in the workplace. The development has also contributed to a wider conversation about access to menstrual products, dignity and inclusion in the workplace.
Access to menstrual products can have implications for people at work and in everyday life. At the same time, the materials and production processes behind these products are increasingly part of wider discussions about textiles and their environmental impacts.
One company working in this area is Iris + Arlo, founded by Canadian entrepreneur Lara Emond. The company offers menstrual products and has chosen GOTS certification for products within its certified scope.
GOTS sets defined requirements for textile processing after raw fibre production, including criteria relating to permitted and restricted chemical inputs as well as environmental and social requirements within the certification scope. This distinction matters. GOTS certification does not mean that a finished product can automatically be described as “free from harmful chemicals,” nor does it guarantee particular environmental, health or working-condition outcomes.
For employers required to provide menstrual products, companies such as Iris + Arlo offer one way of combining workplace access with products covered by independently assessed certification requirements. Iris + Arlo also provides dispensers and disposal systems for workplaces, alongside workshops and educational resources intended to support conversations around menstruation.
Providing menstrual products in the workplace can be more than a practical measure. It can form part of an employer’s broader approach to menstrual health and access, while helping to make menstrual products readily available to people who need them.
The changes to Canada’s Labour Code provide a timely context for these conversations. Alongside questions of workplace access and inclusion, they also create an opportunity to look more closely at the products being provided and the standards and certification requirements that apply to them.
For Iris + Arlo, GOTS certification provides an independently assessed framework of defined requirements for textile processing within the certification scope—giving employers and consumers more specific information about the standards against which certified products have been assessed.
