A SOCIAL enterprise tackling period poverty has been named a finalist in a national competition.

Hey Girls was in the running for the prize in the Heroes of Net Zero competition at a special awards ceremony hosted by Intuit at the COP26 international climate change summit in Glasgow.

More than 160 businesses entered the competition, making a commitment at the UK Business Climate Hub to achieve net zero by 2050, in line with the Government’s own climate commitment.

The social enterprise, previously based in Stenton but now in Musselburgh, was shortlisted in the small business category for demonstrating a range of measures taken on their journey to net zero, including designing and creating period products, packaging and parcels that are natural, biodegradable, sustainable or recyclable.

Rechenda Smith, head of marketing and communications at Hey Girls, was delighted with the recognition.

She said: “Hey Girls does not fit the system and the system does not fit the world. Hey Girls is different by design.

“We can’t simply lament; we have to act.

“We are very conscious of our environmental footprint at Hey Girls and are constantly working on ways to reduce our climatic impact.”

The London Assembly environment committee estimates that, in the UK, the use of tampons, pads and applicators generates 200,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Hey Girls won over the competition judges for not only reducing the environmental impact of its product packaging but going one step further and eliminating all potential packaging waste.

They also praised the business for showing how ethical and sustainable actions can happen simultaneously.

The social enterprise, started in Celia Hodson’s kitchen back in 2018, produces environmentally friendly period products that fund the fight to end period poverty in the UK through a ‘buy one, donate one’ scheme.