Pink tax slashed as Tesco cuts price of women's razors to the same as men's
Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Britain’s biggest grocer Tesco has cut the price of women’s pink razors to bring them in line with male versions.
Following pressure from campaigners over an unfair “pink tax”, the supermarket giant has slashed the cost of a pack of five blades for women by half to 50p.
It means women pay the same as men to defuzz as Tesco’s own label, pink twin bladed disposables match the men’s blue ones penny for penny, for the first time.
Tesco was charging £1 for a pack of five women’s twin-blade razors, twice the price of the men’s equivalent.
The significant move - likely to be followed by rival chains - follows calls from Labour backbencher Paula Sherriff to axe the unfair premium on items cynically aimed at a female market - even though there is a cheaper men’s version in a different colour.
Tesco revealed it had bowed to “concerns about the difference in price” between its pink and blue razors with both now costing 10p each.
In a letter to Dewsbury MP Ms Sherriff, commercial director Kari Daniels said the change of heart came after an internal review and talks with suppliers.
(Photo: REX/Shutterstock)
It stated: “We have aligned the prices of these products so that the male and female razors are the same price per unit. We have done this by reducing the cost of women’s razors and keeping the cost of the men’s razors the same.”
But Ms Daniels stressed the price gap was down to demand with more blue razors than pink ones churned out, rather than gender bias.
Her letter said: “Male razors are produced and sold in significantly higher volumes, which reduces the price we pay for them.”
Welcoming Tesco’s equal prices for disposable razors, Ms Sherriff urged rivals to follow and said: “I hope other companies will identify and correct similar disparities.”
She told the Guardian: “The Government has refused to act on gender pricing, so we’ve had to take a lead.”
The high profile price equality campaigner led the call for the EU to scrap the tampon tax and urged WH Smith to Today a Tesco spokesperson said: “We are guided by doing what is right for our customers and by our commitment to offering clear, competitive and transparent pricing.
“So we have reduced the cost of our women’s twin blade razors, so that they are the same price per unit as the male equivalent.”
Asda charges £1.50 for a pack of ten pastel coloured or dark blue twin bladed, disposable razors.
But women pay £1 more for a pack of three five bladed ones in pink - £4.50 - compared with £3.50 for three men’s five bladed razors in black.