Company Asks Female Employees To Wear 'Period Badges'

A shop in Japan has offered its female members of staff a period badge, if they want to inform their customers that it's that time of the month.

The Michi Kake store, which is in the Japanese city of Osake, sells female sexual health products and in a bid to change the stigma around periods has asked them if they want to signal to their customers that they are on their period.

Female staff in the store are by no means forced to take part, but those that decide to will attach the badge next to their name tag.

The shop sells female sexual health and menstrual products, so it makes sense for its staff to want to be open about the topic.

The badges have Seiri-chan on them - a cartoon character which is known as a symbol for periods and the menstrual cycle in the country.

"Not all customers will react positively to [this shop], but the fem tech boom is growing, and the values of young people are changing with it.

"I might be going a little far in saying this, but I am excited for it to become a shop for solutions for women's sensitive needs, and to be an asset to the marketplace."

All staff, regardless of whether they opt into the new scheme, will show customers round the shop which is split in to four areas - each one corresponding to the stages of the menstrual cycle.

The different sections of the shop include a blue section - this is where products for women who are on their periods will be stocked.

There is also a glittery section, which has sparkly decor and is specifically for 'post-period' items. There is also a turbulence section for the time before women's periods start. This, probably related to pre-menstrual tension (PMT) will have products for when some women feel irritable just before their periods start.

Opinions on the internet seem a little mixed.

Less stigma is always a good thing though, right?