Accessibility shouldn’t
end at the stall door.
Modern restrooms are designed around access.
We consider accessible stalls, grab bars, sinks, soap dispensers, hand dryers, clear floor space, reach ranges, and other restroom essentials. Period products deserve the same consideration.
Every Stall Accessibility is the idea that period products should be available where they are actually needed: inside the stall, within reach, without requiring someone to leave the stall to find them.
Access happens at the point of need
What does accessibility mean for period products?
Accessibility is more than whether period products are somewhere inside the restroom.
Someone who discovers they need a period product after entering a stall may otherwise need to leave the stall, navigate to a common-area dispenser or basket, obtain a product, and return.
For someone with limited mobility, that extra trip can create an even greater barrier.
In-stall access removes that unnecessary step by placing period products at the point of need.
The standard should be the same.
Toilet paper → inside the stall
Period products → inside the stall
Restroom essentials belong at the point of need.
Restroom essentials should be accessible where they are needed
What does the ADA say about period product dispensers?
The ADA Standards for Accessible Design establish requirements for accessible restrooms, including toilet compartments, clear floor space, reach ranges, and operable parts. Fixed dispensers in accessible spaces may need to meet applicable requirements for reach, clear floor space, and usability.
The ADA does not specifically require period products to be provided or period product dispensers to be installed inside every stall.
That distinction matters.
Meeting accessibility requirements is the baseline.
Designing the full restroom experience around how people actually use the space is the next step.
For period products, that means asking more than:
“Is there a dispenser somewhere in the restroom?”
It means asking:
“Can someone access a period product from where they actually need it?”
For UNICORN, that point of need is inside the stall.
Sources: U.S. Access Board, Chapter 6: Toilet Rooms; U.S. Access Board, Chapter 3: Operable Parts; ADA.gov, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
When choosing a period product provider, consider accessibility beyond the product itself:
Point-of-need access
Can someone access a pad or tampon from inside the stall, without needing to leave and find a product elsewhere?
Reach
Can the dispenser be positioned so its operable parts are within applicable accessible reach ranges?
Operability
Is the dispenser easy to use without unnecessary grasping, pinching, twisting, or force?
Accessible stall compatibility
Can the dispenser be incorporated without interfering with grab bars, transfer space, maneuvering space, or other required accessible features?
Consistency
Can the same level of access be provided across standard, accessible, and gender-neutral restroom environments?
Clear floor space
Does the dispenser placement preserve the clear floor and maneuvering space required for accessible use of the stall?
What is Every Stall Accessibility?
Every Stall Accessibility is the principle that period products should be available inside every restroom stall, at the point of need.
It starts with a simple idea: accessibility shouldn't stop at the stall door.
A restroom can meet technical accessibility requirements and still create unnecessary barriers if someone has to leave the stall to find a period product.
Every Stall Accessibility asks workplace, facilities, and design teams to think beyond whether period products are available somewhere in the restroom and instead consider whether they are accessible where they are actually needed.
Works with WELL
UNICORN is the only period care provider that is part of the Works with WELL program, supporting organizations that are thinking more broadly about healthy, inclusive, people-centered spaces.
For us, that includes making period products available where they are actually needed, inside every stall, while keeping the program simple for facilities teams to maintain.
Every Stall Acessability
Modern restroom design should consider more than whether period products are available somewhere in the room. It should consider where they are needed, who can reach them, and what steps a user has to take to access them.
Every Stall Accessibility is our approach to that question: make pads and tampons available inside every stall, including accessible restroom environments, while respecting applicable accessibility and building requirements.
Ready to rethink period product access?
UNICORN can help you plan an in-stall period product program for your workplace or facility.
Build Your Program → or contact Lindsay at lindsay@everystall.com.