Australian women are resorting to using tea towels and tote bags as a low-cost alternative to tampons and pads - and they're sick of it. Period.
The cost-saving DIY solutions are some of the effects of period poverty across the nation, according to the world's largest survey on menstruation.
A survey of more than 150,000 Australians found two in three struggle to afford basic menstruation products while one in two miss work because of their period.
Advocacy group Share the Dignity founder Rochelle Courtenay, who ran the study in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology, called on the government to take the issue of period poverty more seriously.
The term refers to the inability to afford or access period products, sanitation, hygiene facilities and education to manage menstrual health.
"Some people used tea towels or tote bags to try and manage their period with dignity, which is unacceptable here in Australia," Ms Courtenay told AAP.
But it's not just individuals who are feeling the pinch.
Missed work because of periods costs Australian businesses an estimated $9.6 billion each year, Ms Courtenay says.
And with one in three respondents citing a fear of leaking as the reason for missing work, the solution could be very simple.
"We need businesses to provide free access to period products so we can improve productivity and negate this heavy cost to the economy," Ms Courtenay said.
"You just provide period products in the bathroom, why wouldn't you?
"It is a very low-cost solution ... (women) will be able to effectively work and we all want that."
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately affected with 21.5 per cent in the community unable to afford period products compared to 6.9 per cent of non-Indigenous people in the last 12 months.
Gender diverse people and those with a disability were also found to be disproportionately affected by period poverty.
"No one should have to go without these basic essentials, yet this issue is alarmingly prevalent," Ms Courtenay said.
Report author Jane Connory said period poverty impacts anyone with a uterus.
"We advocate that not all women menstruate and not all people who menstruate are women ... it is gender diverse," she told AAP.
The Bloody Big Survey is run every three years and and aims to monitor the physical, social and financial impacts of menstruation and whether period poverty rates have improved over time.
