Australians were outraged after a customer discovered a single sanitary pad priced at $2 at a convenience store.
A woman and her friend had been visiting a Salvation Army in Mount Gravatt, south of Brisbane, when they made the discovery earlier this week.
“We just want to show you one particular item that we think goes above and beyond,” one of the women said in a video shared on TikTok.
The couple was seen heading to the back of the store and picking up a Libra sanitary pad priced at $2.
It’s open at the back and they’re actually selling it. “That’s just disgusting,” one of the women said.
“It’s disgusting,” her friend added.
The Libra notebook is believed to have been in a larger package that was on sale for $2, but had been forgotten when the rest of the notebooks in the package were stolen.
A Salvation Army worker named Karen responded to one of the women who posted her message on TikTok.
On TikTok, two women were enjoying “a little bit of girls’ day shopping” and said “we just want to show you one particular item that we think is pushing the envelope.” One of the women appears in the photo.
“I spoke to the store manager and team at Mt Gravatt who assured me that when the items were placed on the sales floor it was a sealed pack of 10 sanitary pads for $2,” he said.
“I can only assume they took the others and left the one you picked up and put the two dollar bill on it.”
“It is not the team’s intention (sic) to insult women regardless of their financial situation and we will do everything we can to ensure this type of thing does not happen again.”
Social media users were quick to express their outrage.
“They should put them in a basket on the counter labeled ‘Free’ for those women or girls who can’t afford sanitary items,” one wrote.
“Salvos has the audacity to act as if sanitary items are a luxury purchase.”
“Don’t they realize it’s classed as contaminated and should have been thrown away? I worked for the Salvation Army before my shop was burnt down, they shouldn’t be selling it,” added a second.
‘Why leave it there? Did you ask or tell the staff? asked another, directing his question to the women who saw the notebook.
‘We left it there. “We were too stunned,” one of the women responded.
“Sanitary items (sic) should be free in stores like this, doctors, hospitals, etc.,” another social media user added.
“Sure, people would take advantage, but there are also people who are desperate.”