The Red Box Japan tackles period poverty with NFT

The Red Box Japan, a community-based charity aiming to end period poverty, collaborated with METALIA Co., Ltd., which plans and manages digital events to launch a new global charity project using Non-Fungible Token (NFT). The use of NFT is expected to raise awareness of worldwide menstruation poverty and increase methods to donate, leading to an increase in donations.

The Red Box Japan and world-leading CG creators re-designed The Red Box Japan logo into five CG artworks, including illustrations and reels. They utilize their sales from NFT to provide free sanitary products and menstrual education to schools in Japan, Indonesia and Thailand. Their NFT is available at Open Sea.

What does the Red Box do?

The Red Box aims to support young people throughout their periods by providing red boxes filled with free period products to schools and colleges. The Red Box campaign started in 2017 by three university students in the UK and spread to the EU, and then the world. The Japan branch was established in 2019 and has set up red boxes in 260 schools and educational facilities as of January 2023.

1 in 5 students finds it difficult to access period products

Period poverty is an issue in which females, especially school-age children, lack access to sanitary products for financial and/or other reasons. According to NHK, 20% of student respondents have felt difficulty in purchasing sanitary products due to small income. At the same time, 37% have responded that they have used fewer sanitary products so that they don’t have to buy a new one. Although sanitary products are as necessary as toilet paper, they tend to be more expensive than other consumable items.

NFT to solve social issues worldwide

With an expansion of the NFT market, NFT fundraising has recently gained attention worldwide. It is effective to increase donations without spending time and money on the exchange of physical items or shipping costs. Moreover, it also can support digital creators who are struggling with piracy and verifying ownership. This new method with endless possibilities is expected to cast light on not only the period poverty issue but also the ownership of digital artwork that has remained invisible for a long time.