Background

Safe, affordable menstrual products are essential for anyone who menstruates. But worldwide, millions cannot afford to buy - or do not have reliable access to - the safe menstrual products they need. Period poverty represents an ongoing issue in the EU. It is estimated that currently, 1 in 10 people who menstruate cannot afford sanitary products. The French Institute for Public Opinion estimates that period poverty affects 1.7 million women in France.

At the same time, using conventional, disposable menstrual products harms the environment. Most sanitary pads contain up to 90% plastic, while tampons have plastic applicators and sometimes come in individual plastic wrappers. The production of plastic and improper disposal of these products is causing pollution and filling up landfills.

Paris-Saclay University (UPS) aims to help address both of these issues by providing free access to reusable menstrual products for students in precarious financial situations.  At the end of 2021, UPS launched a consultation to deal with menstrual precariousness faced by scholarship students. The Diversity and Equal Opportunity unit identified 5,000 potential beneficiaries among 30,000 students.

Procurement objectives

In France, the “Climate and Resilience” law will come into force no later than August 2026 and will require taking into account the objective of sustainable development at three levels:  technical specifications, award criteria, and contract conditions

The UPS Purchasing and Markets Performance Department (DPAM) has been applying this obligation since 2021 to prepare suppliers for the decrees, which will affect both the environmental and social fields. This allows the procurement team to see the efforts that bidders are already making regarding these policies. All sustainable development and social responsibility criteria are weighted at 10% or 15% and composed of sub-criteria:

1- Applied measures in terms of professional integration of people in difficulty (10 or 5 points)

2 - Applied measures in terms of environmental protection (5 points).

Criteria used

The menstrual products were divided into three lots:

Lot 1: Period panties

Lot 2: Reusable pads

Lot 3: Menstrual caps

Each lot was subject to a framework agreement, with bidders offered the possibility to submit offers for all lots. The same candidate could be awarded several or all of the lots.

Selection criteria

Bidders were asked to submit information concerning their professional references and technical capacity, including environmental management measures that the candidate would be able to apply during the performance of the contract. They were asked to provide the technical brief justifying the provisions that the company proposes to adopt for the performance of the contract, specifying their organization, material and human resources. This technical brief included details on the delivery capacity (number of trucks, staff composition, storage capacity, delivery time), the organization for the management of quotes and orders (staff managing of orders, quotes and accounting monitoring), and technical data sheets of distributors.

Technical specifications

The products must be labelled with OEKO-Tex Standard 100 Product Class 2 or equivalent to allow control of their origins and qualities. Since menstrual pads are underwear, they fall under OEKO-Tex Standard 100 Product Class 2, which includes textile products that come into direct contact with the skin for shorter periods of time. Qualification and/or quality certificates requested from candidates: Oeko-Tex label or equivalent. If, for example, the candidate did not have OEKO-Tex labelled products or other equivalent labels but had succeeded in proving the absence of chemical and allergic products in the fabrics with laboratory tests, the bid would also have been accepted. To prove this, technical data sheets corresponding to the products and services were required from the bidders, specifying composition, packaging, product standards and certifications, and quality certificates.

UPS aimed to optimize the analysis of the offers and ensure that the reusable menstrual products were of sufficient quality. Candidates were asked to provide the following samples:

• Lot 1: Two menstrual panties of different sizes and/or models.

• Lot 2: A sample of each sanitary protection model (different flows or sizes) • Lot 3: A sample of each menstrual cup model (different sizes).

Award criteria

The criteria used for judging the offers are weighted as follows:

For Lot 1 (menstrual panties):

For Lot 2 (Reusable pads):

For Lot 2 (Reusable pads):

Contract performance clauses

The UPS team monitors the supplier performance, including compliance with Oeko-Tex and other quality certificates and technical qualities such as absorption speed and sealing. The menstrual cups must be reusable for at least three years. If a non-conformity is discovered, UPS DPAM can apply penalties, terminate the contract, or have it carried out by another supplier at the contract holder’s expense.

Results

For Lot 1, eight candidates submitted an offer. For Lot 2, there were five candidates, and for Lot 3, two candidates placed bids. The winner of each lot obtained the maximum points on criterion 3 concerning the integration of people in precarious situations and environmental protection. All the commitments mentioned in their offers are contractual and, therefore, must form part of the performance of the contract. Some rejected candidates also obtained the maximum mark either on the social criterion or on the environmental criterion.

The materials for the period panties and reusable pads (lots 1 and 2) were manufactured from hemp plants, which require a small amount of water and use Tencel fibre instead of bamboo to support a closed-loop process. In addition, some components of the products and materials were produced from recycled material. Both winning suppliers of lots 1 and 2 use organic cotton in their supply chain while adopting a short supply chain model to reduce the CO2 impacts of logistics. The winning bid for Lot 3 offered menstrual cups made from biocompatible medical-grade silicone, which is reusable and recyclable.

In addition to the mandatory Oeko-Tex (or equivalent) certification, the winning bidders for Lots 1 and 2 submitted GOTS organic certification guaranteeing a percentage of organic fibres in the product. The winning bid for Lot 1 provided ISO 9001 quality management certification, ISO 13485 quality management certification for medical devices, BSCI reports and WRAP certification.

The supplier for Lot 2 offered recyclable packaging solutions from PEFC, FSC and Label Imprim Vert certified sources. The winning bidder for Lot 3 takes back the menstrual cup packaging and recycles it in a waste recovery circuit. Delivery for all lots is carried out with low-pollution vehicles, where possible.

The social impacts of the bids include suppliers that hire people or partner with other organizations to reintegrate people in precarious situations, with disabilities or excluded from the labour market.

For example, one supplier collaborates with ESATs (‘établissements ou services d’aide par le travail’), organizations that structure work to allow people with disabilities to exercise professional activity while benefiting from medico-social and educational support in a protected environment. Another supplier partners with an FSA association (Féminité Sans Abri), providing hygiene kits to women in precarious situations and working with associations helping “vulnerable” women and victims of violence.

For socially responsible supply chain practices, GOTS certification for Lots 1 and 2 demonstrated respectful working conditions along the supply chain. The winning bidder for Lot 1 carried out risk mapping at its various suppliers and drew up an action plan according to the countries where risks have been identified in terms of the Human Development Index, corruption and child labour. In addition, they have had all their suppliers sign a charter which includes the ILO fundamental conventions.

Environmental impacts

In 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reviewed several Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of singleuse menstrual products – pads and tampons – and alternatives, including menstrual cups, reusable pads and period underwear. The UNEP report finds that reusable menstrual products have a lower environmental impact than singleuse menstrual products.

Mass-produced and single-use menstrual products contain plastic and other nonbiodegradable materials that harm the environment. Pads are made of 90% plastic, while tampons have at least 6% plastic. In Europe, approximately 87% of single-use menstrual products end up in landfills where the plastic components can take up to 500 years to break down, potentially releasing toxic chemicals into the environment as they degrade and generating microplastics that threaten the health of ecosystems (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). Some menstrual products are also flushed down the toilet, meaning disposable pads and tampons can end up in seas and wash up on beaches.

The UN LCA analysis highlights that reusable menstrual products have substantially lower environmental impacts than commonly available single-use options in all circumstances. The menstrual cup, in particular, has consistently lower impacts than the other single-use and reusable product options. Menstrual cups are made of silicone and last ten years, leaving very little waste. They are also safe and easy to use, as they can be sterilized using boiling water. For the menstrual cup, the cardboard packaging is the main contributor to the environmental impacts accounting for 73% to 99% of the potential impact across the impact categories considered.

One winning bidder has hired three employees, out of a workforce of 15, in a precarious situation: a long-term unemployed person, a person who has lost his home and a person in professional retraining of foreign nationality. Another supplier works with an ESAT, which is responsible for preparing orders and employs 15 people with disabilities fulltime. ESATs welcome people whose work capacities do not allow them to work in an ordinary or adapted company or to exercise an independent professional activity. The work offered in ESAT is adjusted according to the handicaps of the people and can include packaging for distribution.

As of September 2022, there were 1,605 requests for protection from students in need. UPS has distributed 2,500 period panties, 835 reusable pads and 230 cups. The university plans to extend the campaign on menstrual poverty.

Lessons learned

• It was difficult to assess candidates who demonstrated equivalent commitments, for example, between a company that hires people in precarious situations and one that works with ESAT. The UPS team is still developing skills and knowledge to evaluate ecological performance. The positive point is that UPS will still have time to adjust before the 2026 regulations come into force.

• Due to the influence and international visibility of the university, UPS makes a point to be ahead of societal and environmental issues. To be an exemplary public institution, it is deepening the integration of sustainable and responsible criteria into purchases. However, the maturity of the purchasing policy at UPS requires more attention. For lawyers and buyers to have the technical skills to assess the candidates for calls for tenders, further training on sustainable procurement will be delivered.

More information

Contact person: Xavier Driussi, Purchasing and Contracting Performance Department, Paris-Saclay University, xavier [dot] driussiuniversite-paris-saclay [dot] fr & Tatiana Demchuk, Purchasing and Contracting Performance Department, tatiana [dot] demchukuniversite-paris-saclay [dot] fr

Paris-Saclay University website.

General contact information available online.

For related information, please see European GPP criteria for Textiles and the Technical Background Report.

Tender documents are available online.