Social Enterprise Spotlight – Hey Girls CIC
Our newest Social Enterprise Spotlight is Celia Hodson and Hey Girls CIC – a social enterprise that retails sanitary towels on a ‘buy one and give one’ model . Get in touch with Celia at contact@heygirls.co.uk – check out www.heygirls.co.uk. Connect with them on Twitter and Facebook too. Read and share their Q&A interview below!
What’s your social and/or environmental mission? Hey Girls is a Buy One Give One Sanitary Pad social enterprise that is tackling Period Poverty. All the profits from our Buy One Give One products go directly to help girls and young women in need. We believe that access to sanitary products is a right, not a privilege.
How do you do it? (Client group, practical daily work, customers) At Hey Girls we know that you girls and young women are all powerful individuals, care about your health, are passionate about the environment and want to make a difference. That’s why we girls created Hey Girls – to offer you a no leak, super comfy, chlorine and bleach free, environmentally friendly product that tackles period poverty in the UK.
What’s your personal motivation for being a social entrepreneur? Hey Girls was founded by myself and my daughters Becky and Kate, with the philosophy that girls and young women should never have to compromise their wellbeing or their health. Having been a single parent, I understand firsthand the financial strain of buying sanitary protection when struggling to survive on benefits.
What are your current projects? For Hey Girls Buy One Give One donation we have an established list of schools, food banks and women’s centers where we will begin to distribute our Give One free products in the coming months. We are also developing educational resources. Our educational packs and workshops create awareness around the benefits of improved menstrual health and help build confidence, self-esteem, improve educational attainments, participation in sports and quality of life.
What exciting things do you have coming up? At Hey Girls, we offer two varieties of no leak, super comfy, chlorine and bleach free, environmentally friendly sanitary pads. These are available to buy online at www.heygirls.co.uk but there is also interest from major UK supermarkets so we hope that our sanitary pads will be on shelves nationwide by Spring 2018. We are also developing educational resources and aim to pilot our education model in West Lothian in the next six months.
Who do you want to work with more? We are proud to be partnering with Haven Products for our B2B and B2B logistics and fulfillment service and working with Bold Marketing around our website and e-commerce store has been exciting. We wish to work more closely with other social enterprises in our supply chain wherever possible.
What’s your biggest challenge? Time and cash flow – manufacturing takes time and shipping from China takes even longer. We have to pay for our sani pads before they are loaded into our container. Everything has to be paid for in full before we receive our products so I’m developing nerves of steel.
What top tips would you give to other social enterprises? Start somewhere and move up. Many social enterprises or social entrepreneurs don’t begin a new thread of activity or venture until they feel the business plan is perfect. The best way to know if something is going to work is by giving it a go and then reflect, refine and go again.