The corporate shift drew sharp criticism from James Esses, who shared the leaked internal documents publicly and accused the retailer of erasing womanhood.
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"Waitrose erases womanhood," he said.
Esses expressed strong disapproval regarding the policy change implemented by senior management.
"A whistleblower from Waitrose has just leaked an internal document to me, in which senior leaders have pledged to remove the name 'feminine care' from sanitary products, on the basis that 'not all people who have periods are women'.
Disgraceful," said Esses.
A spokesperson for Waitrose clarified that the change was a practical adjustment to reflect the expanding inventory in the aisle.
"We're changing the name simply because 'feminine products' no longer reflects the product range, which now includes incontinence pads for men," said a spokesman for Waitrose.
Fiona McAnena, director of advocacy at the group Sex Matters, told The Telegraph that the supermarket was succumbing to pressure from a small group of activists.
"It might make sense for Waitrose to change the product category from 'feminine care' to 'sanitary products' in order to modernise a quaint term from an era when menstruation was a more sensitive topic," she told The Telegraph.
McAnena argued that the terminology change goes against public consensus regarding biology.
"Instead, the retailer is changing a commonly understood term for period products to appease a noisy minority of gender activists who are deeply out of step with the general public, as shown by poll after poll," said McAnena.
She concluded by reaffirming the traditional connection between the product category and biological sex.
"'Feminine care' might be a bit old-fashioned as a term, but it reflects the fact that only women and girls menstruate.
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That will never change, no matter how much irrational noise the trans lobby makes," said McAnena.
