The brand Always plans to remove the Venus symbol, which is traditionally used to represent the female sex, from its menstrual products in order to be more inclusive of transgender and non-binary consumers.
In an email to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Always’ parent company Procter & Gamble confirmed it would be redesigning the individual wrapping for its pads.
“For over 35 years Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so. We’re also committed to diversity and inclusion and are on a continual journey to understand the needs of all of our consumers,” the statement read.
“We routinely assess our products, packaging, and designs, taking into account a variety of inputs including in depth consumer research, to ensure we are meeting the needs of everyone who uses our products. The change to our pad wrapper design is consistent with that practice.”
The redesign comes after transgender activists and supporters targeted Always for its inclusion of the Venus symbol, with a circle on top of a cross, on its packaging.
Despite the praise, there were still some online users who took issue with the company’s decision.
On Twitter, a number of critics accused the company of “erasing” women and vowed to boycott Always products.
The spokesperson for Procter & Gamble said the updated design will be adapted by multiple markets at “various dates.”
