In the United Kingdom
Bear Earth is headquartered in Leicester, operating from the She Inspires Community and Enterprise Hub on Bishop Street. In the UK, dignity kits and sanitary products are distributed through the Zinthiya Trust via food banks and community shops, reaching women and girls who cannot afford period products.
The need is urgent and growing. The cost-of-living crisis has pushed more families into hygiene poverty than at any point in the past decade. Those working on Bear Earth's community project report that many girls in the UK miss up to a week of school every month because they cannot afford period products, or because cultural stigma around menstruation keeps them at home.
Bear Earth's UK distribution focuses on Leicester and surrounding communities, with products reaching women and girls through established food bank networks and community organisations.
Across the world
Bear Earth's founder, Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan, was born in Sri Lanka, where one pack of sanitary products costs around 200 rupees, the equivalent of half a day's wage. That personal experience drives Bear Earth's international work.
Internationally, Bear Earth delivers dignity kits to communities where menstrual hygiene products are inaccessible. This includes:
Refugee and displacement camps where women and girls lack access to basic sanitary products and are forced to use unsafe alternatives.
Rural areas where mainstream aid does not reach, including agricultural communities and tea plantations across South Asia.
Prisons and detention facilities where hygiene products are often unavailable or severely rationed.
Urban slums where families living in extreme poverty cannot afford the most basic hygiene essentials.
Bear Earth partners with humanitarian agencies and community organisations on the ground to ensure kits reach the women and girls who need them most. Kits are tailored to the cultural context, age group, and distribution environment of each community.
Bear Earth is headquartered in the UK and operates locally ensuring:
Impact through education and product distribution
Collaboration with organisations aligned with our mission