Despite That Tesco Tweet, You Can Still Buy Sanitary Products at Tesco In Wales

This morning, a very confusing and concerning tweet surfaced from Tesco. After a customer complained tweeted that she was told she couldn’t buy period pads in her local Tesco in Wales, the company replied saying they had ‘been told by the Welsh Government not to sell these items for the duration of the firebreak lockdown’.

Naturally, chaos ensued. Hundreds of quote tweets demanding a response from the Welsh government quickly arose. Why, oh why, would a government ever ban women from buying essential sanitary products? Has the tampon tax that implies period products are luxury items meant women in Wales will no have no choice but to free bleed?

Well, no, basically. According to the Welsh government, the Tesco tweet was completely ‘inaccurate’. ‘Tesco tweeted false information claiming Welsh Government has banned the sale of hygiene products,’ a spokesperson for the Welsh government told Grazia. ‘The Welsh Government has NOT banned the sale of any hygiene products. They can be sold. We have raised this with Tesco and they have deleted the post.’

The confusion comes after Wales put in place restrictions as part of their firebreak lockdown on what can be sold in stores that sell multiple different types of products. ‘This has been done in view of the need for everybody to stay at home unless it is necessary to leave,’ the Welsh government explains. ‘People should not leave home to buy any goods that aren’t essential during the firebreak period. It also follows that in order to maintain a level playing field and to reduce interaction between people away from home, shops that sell multiple products should not be allowed to sell products sold by a shop that has been required to close. ‘

However, their website specifically states that products that can be sold in stores are any of those that would normally be sold in ‘pharmacies and chemists’ as well as ‘food and drink retailers’, ‘newsagents’, ‘petrol stations’ and many, many more.

The misunderstanding has taken on a life of its own though, with Tesco now facing backlash for tweeting and deleting their response. They have since admitted the tweet was sent in mistake.

'Sanitary products are essential items and are available to customers in all of our stores in Wales,' a spokesperson told Grazia. 'Due to a break-in, this area was closed temporarily in one store for a Police investigation, but is now open again. The reply to this customer, which implied these products were non-essential, was sent by mistake and we’re very sorry for any confusion caused.'

They also said that the tweet in question was a standard response from their customer services team when responding to queries about non-essential items, and should not have been used in this situation given sanitary products are clearly essential.

Read More:

The Best Lockdown Memes And Jokes For When Everything Feels Too Much

Why We Need To Completely Change The Way Society Views Periods

Is This The End Of The Tampon Tax?

Click through for realistic portrayals of women on their period that aren't like what we always see in stock images...