Local MP for Welwyn Hatfield, Grant Shapps, visited WUKA HQ in his constituency to meet the entrepreneurial individuals making waves in women’s sanitary products.
Founded in 2017, WUKA is a female-led start-up that broke ground by producing and selling the UK’s first-ever reusable, sustainable, leakproof period wear. They make various products – from underwear to swimwear – all tailored towards a woman’s individual preferences.
Beginning from a Kickstarter fundraising effort in 2017, wherein WUKA raised £7000, the business has continued to thrive from its Hatfield based HQ with sales reaching over 10 million over the last four years. They are currently the largest independent seller and manufacturer of period pads in the world and sell their product all around the world.
Mr Shapps met with members of the WUKA team during a recent constituency day to find out about their successes and discuss what he can do to help them as their local member of parliament.
The WUKA team expressed their desire to make sustainable period products accessible to everyone and for MPs to support their #AxePeriodPantsTax campaign which they began in 2021 so that the current VAT applied to period pants can be abolished in line with other period products post-Brexit.
Mr Shapps heard their concerns and offered his full support as their local MP to help remove this tax from their products. He commented:
“No VAT being applied on period products is one of the many freedoms we now have post-Brexit. To see that WUKA’s fantastic product is not being treated fairly is a clear injustice. I will do every I can to help this great business achieve its goal of axing this tax and making sure that sustainable period products are available for all.”
The WUKA team were thankful for Mr Shapps’ visit and show of support, with Ruby Raut, the CEO and Co-Founder of WUKA commenting:
“We were delighted to have Grant Shapps MP take the time to visit us at WUKA HQ last week. Not only did he take the time to understand our business and hear our case behind the #AxePeriodPantsTax campaign but offered his full support to help make sustainable period products more accessible to everyone. Mr Shapps is the perfect ally for us – not only as our local MP but as Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. With his support, we believe we can achieve our net zero goals and create a period positive future for millions of women and girls in the UK.”
Mr Shapps thanks the team for making the time to see him and looks forward to helping them achieve their goals in the near future.
Entrepreneurial Business is Waking Up and Kicking Ass
