53,568,609 million Brazilians live below the poverty line (without basic resources to live).

A survey conducted by Always found out that 1 in 4 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 miss school because of period poverty in Brazil. Half of them revealed having replaced pads with newspapers, toilet papers or old clothes (a resource that offers health risks). The period is source of shame and there is a lot of suffering behind it.

With this alarming data, the brand sought to give visibility to this cause and eradicate the problem in the country. Always believes that the lack of women’s period dignity reflects gender inequality, a portrait of a sexist society, which no longer fits these days.

A lack of conversation about this subject reinforces taboos and undermines the girls' development and self-confidence. Always had to contribute to transformation!

Always, a brand that throughout its entire history has empowered girls and women, launched #GirlHelpsGirl movement to extinguish Period Poverty. The purpose was to induce the discussion about the reality of this girls and contribute, together with society, to give everyone the opportunity for a better future.

The brand believes that every girl should have access to period hygiene products and that the potential of these girls should not be limited by a lack of minimum conditions. No girl should lose a school day because of period. Always made a long-term commitment to extinguish period poverty and invited all girls and women to embrace this cause.

#GirlHelpsGirl is a movement of female voices that unites all in a chain of support with many initiatives: donation of 3MM pads, disclosure of the results of the survey to the mass media and female influencers to carry on the message.

Always has always empowered girls and women. The brand values sisterhood and the power of female victories for all women. It would be no different when faced with the serious numbers of period poverty in Brazil

The start was the understanding of the reality in the country. The result turned the problem into an unprecedented motivation: Promote a great movement with practical initiatives to help minimize the situation and draw the attention of society, especially government. A great challenge, since 85% of the legislative power is formed by men, which reflects in the low number of laws aimed for women.

The campaign used survey data to draw attention to the brand's cause and actions to help girls throughout Brazil.

The movement was led by women and it reached out to those in government to help win laws that benefit our girls.

This is how the #GirlHelpsGirl campaign was created.

#GirlHelpsGirl started in May 2021, with a survey of women from all classes and regions of Brazil. The sample favored the poorest population aged up to 21 years.

The data was turned into content by the PR team. The campaign also included a donation of 3 million units of Always, partnering with NGOs and humanitarian aid institutions, such as the Red Cross.

To increase relevance and reach of the movement, testimonies of brazilian famous women has been captured and became the campaign's manifest. All the produced materials were made available for sharing on social networks.

By the end of 2021, the brand raised bills for free distribution of sanitary pads in schools and sent the survey results to policymakers.

Always also put period poverty in the conversations of who really matters to politicians: The voters.

In less than a year, the campaign impacted more than 103 million of Brazilians and increased the number of posts on Twitter by 1,700%, posts on Facebook by 1,300% and press publications on the subject by 843%.

#GirlHelpsGirl placed Brazilian Instagram as #1 of the brand in the world, with a growth of 58% of followers.

But what really matters was the change in Brazilian public policies:

In March 2022, the campaign became Law throughout Brazil. The Law, unprecedented until then, guarantees free distribution of sanitary pads in public schools. Before, the only access to sanitary pads was by purchasing or receiving donations.

An action that provides direct aid to 5,600,000 girls.

This campaign is a victory for girls who have helped and continue to help girls.