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Lessons That Last: How Menstrual Education Transformed a Young Girl’s Life
Nov 15, 2024 | Blog
Menstrual health education has the power to transform lives, challenging long-held stigmas and reshaping perceptions. In this heartfelt interview, Arunadevi, a 10th-grade student, shares her journey from ignorance and societal taboos to empowerment and advocacy after...
What’s Normal and What’s Not?
Oct 2, 2024 | Blog
Part 1: Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle Sarahfin Richard Guest contributor: Dr Divya, MS, DNB (OBG) When we think of a menstrual cycle, the first thing that comes to our mind is our period. Basically, the bleeding part! But what if there was more to the...
Revisioning Menstrual Education (Part 2)
Jan 24, 2024 | Blog
Revisioning menstrual education By Kathy Walkling, co-founder of Eco Femme In Part 1 of this 2 part blog series, we explored ways in which we, as a menstrual educators, can become more conscious of our ways of being and explained the importance of doing our...
Revisioning Menstrual Education (Part 1)
Jan 10, 2024 | Blog, Education, Health & Hygiene, Pad for pad.
Part 1: Setting the context for a deeper shift By Kathy Walkling, co-founder of Eco Femme. Menstruation has, over the last 15 years, gone from being virtually off the radar to becoming a focal development issue receiving significant global attention,...
Making the switch…Kelsey
Sep 27, 2023 | Ambassadors., Blog, Making the switch
Kelsey spent 7 weeks interning here at The Eco Femme headquarters in early 2017, here, she shares her journey from first period to her diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (You can read a more detailed piece about her journey with PCOS here). Our thanks to...
Collaborating with Sharana to give menstrual education to adolescent girls and women
Jan 23, 2023 | Ecosisterhood stories, Education, Health & Hygiene, Making the switch, Pad for pad.
Written by Sharana. Sharana collaborates with Eco Femme, Auroville to create Menstrual Cycle Literacy and encourage the use of Cloth Pads among Adolescent Girls and Women In Sharana, as an organization we have never claimed to be able to do it all on our own; we are...
A review of “Period Queen” by Lucy Peach
Oct 31, 2022 | Ambassadors., Health & Hygiene
Book review of “Period Queen” by the Australian Period Preacher Lucy Peach who explains how to take the most of each phase of your menstrual cycle and turn it into a power every month!
Menstrual Cycle: Tracking or Charting?
Sep 21, 2022 | Blog, Eco Femme, Education, Health & Hygiene
Your inbuilt health report card! In the hustle bustle of life, disconnection from one’s own body is inevitable. Have you ignored pain and aches in the body and are unsure about the root cause? Or accepted periodic energy dips and pushed through your days, feeling...
The power of informed choice
Sep 13, 2022 | Eco Femme, Education, Health & Hygiene, Pads for sisters.
(Excerpt from our interview with Maanushi Foundation) Some of the most inspiring stories from the field have been about individuals, alone or in groups, who have been able to bring about profound changes in their society through simple but effective interventions. In...
How to track your Menstrual Cycle and Why it matters (Part 2)
May 27, 2022 | Eco Femme, Education, Health & Hygiene
In the part 1 of this blog series, we understood what it means to track your menstrual cycle. In this part 2 of the series, we will dive deeper into the various methods of tracking your menstrual cycle. The image above is from our ambassador Shivangi, who practises...
How to track your Menstrual Cycle and Why it matters (Part 1)
May 20, 2022 | Eco Femme, Education, Health & Hygiene, Pads for sisters.
First of all, let's understand what menstrual cycle tracking is. Menstrual/ Period cycle tracking is a powerful tool to become familiar with your menstruation. We are passionate about cycle tracking and have long advocated for this practice during all our educational...
From Pills to Cycle Tracking – A Journey of Empowerment
May 10, 2022 | Blog, Education, Health & Hygiene
By Susana Bustos (Eco Femme’s Graphic designer) This is my journey moving from pills to cycle tracking. I started tracking my cycle one year ago with some reservations. I began preparing myself to take a big step to control my fertility naturally using the...
Peer-Led Menstrual education, a new experiment with NCC
Apr 18, 2022 | Education
In December 2020, Colonel Piyush Srivastava from National Cadet Corps (NCC), Puducherry approached us to explore a collaboration to offer menstrual health education and train young women cadets to become peer menstrual educators. The NCC is the youth wing of...
Eco Femme – a Flower of Auroville
Feb 28, 2022 | Blog, Eco Femme
Eco Femme cloth pads and menstrual programs have attracted curiosity and attention from many people around the world. How did it start? Where did the idea originate? Why did two foreigners end up in India, creating this social enterprise? The thread that connects all...
Journey with a purpose to Limi Valley in Nepal
Nov 26, 2021 | Education, Pads for sisters.
It was exactly one year back when we had this idea to distribute sanitary pads to women in the Limi Valley as the lockdown had made it hard for them to access essential goods. Limi Valley is a beautiful trans-Himalayan community located in the north-western corner of...
Our collaboration with the organization Sharana to create Menstrual Cycle Literacy and encourage the use of Cloth Pads among Adolescent Girls and Women
Sep 27, 2021 | Health & Hygiene, Pads for sisters.
Written by our partner Sharana from Pondicherry. Sharana collaborates with Eco Femme, Auroville to create Menstrual Cycle Literacy and encourage the use of Cloth Pads among Adolescent Girls and Women. In Sharana, as an organization we have never claimed to be...
Linda’s PCOS Journey
Aug 17, 2021 | Ambassadors., Health & Hygiene, Shop international
From insecurity to full trust in my body In the spring of 2017, I was in love with life. My new boyfriend was the sweetest thing, we took many weekend trips away, and in the meantime I was writing my thesis. Of course that was stressful, but I constantly felt like...
Covid-19 and our Menstrual Health Management journey
Aug 5, 2021 | Education
The pandemic has been an eye-opener for many of us. It slowed down the pace of life and gave us a space to reconsider our choices and their impacts on our immediate environment and the planet as a whole. For me, personally, the...
Eco Bébé – Our Story
Jul 26, 2021 | Health & Hygiene, Shop India, Shop international
What planted the seed for Eco Bébé? Our cloth nappy journey evolved alongside our cloth pad journey, starting many years ago. We started stitching cloth pads because we were deeply confronted by the sanitary waste situation in India and all around the...
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Mar 5, 2021 | Eco Femme
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A Love Letter from our Co-founders
Aug 9, 2020 | Eco Femme, Ecosisterhood.
Eco Femme turns 10! In searching for an overarching metaphor to attempt to describe what this journey has been about, the one that jumps most naturally to mind is motherhood - so bear with us as the related metaphors start to flow! From the beginning, as our initial...
Talking to Men and Boys about Sustainable Menstruation
Aug 2, 2020 | Blog, Culture, Education, Projects page.
So, why talk with men and boys about menstruation? The answer is simple: because one-sided conversations are not as effective as a two-way dialogue when it comes to change-making! Boys and men are the other part of our population and thus need to be involved in...
Make Your Own Cloth Pad: A Fabulous Idea…with a Caveat!
Jul 14, 2020 | Blog, Eco Femme
During the last few months of lockdown, many things became visible which were before concealed. One of those revelations was that disposing of sanitary waste is actually a real problem - not that we didn’t know that before - but for many people, this reality hit them...
Make The Switch… Natasha
Apr 28, 2020 | Blog, Making the switch
Eco Femme Communications Manager, Natasha, shares her story on switching to sustainable menstrual products for better health. Periods have always carried a negative connotation in my head, largely owing to the painful cramps that keep me bedridden on my first two...
Making the Switch…Jharna
Oct 21, 2019 | Blog, Making the switch
Eco Femme ambassador, Jharna, shares her story on switching to sustainable menstrual products and becoming a menstrual health educator. I have always had a decent, mildly painful, only 5 day long period and had no physical reasons to make a switch to sustainable...
Meet the ambassador: Tanvi
Oct 21, 2019 | Blog, Eco Femme, Education
It was a first for me when girls were paraded around almost in a walk of shame, simply because of a stain. It was a first for me when we were applauded about talking in whispers about Stayfree and Whisper. As I stood performing my piece on menstruation at a...
How to talk to your parents about switching to cloth pads!
*As I’m speaking from personal experience this article mentions moms. However, I do want to acknowledge that fathers too have a valuable opinion. No one ever forgets the day they pulled down their pants and saw blood in their underwear. If you’re female...
Be Part of the Solution!
Apr 3, 2019 | Blog, Environment
Some of you may have attended the Auroville Trashion Show back in early February or seen photos or videos on social media. It was a great event that we at Eco Femme were delighted to participate in for the first time. Founded in 2010, the Auroville Trashion Show aims...
Menstrual Health Education: Reflections from the field
Mar 13, 2019 | Education, Pad for pad.
Eco Femme Pad for Pad facilitator and trainer Nikethana, shares her reflections on giving menstrual health education sessions to girls and women around India. I have been working as a part of Eco Femme’s Pad for Pad programme for several years as a facilitator and...
We need YOU!
Dear Friends, we are posting regarding our Pad for Pad programme, which you may already be aware of. Pad for Pad: Passing on the power of informed choice. Through this programme, we deliver menstrual health education and offer cloth pads to...
“Period. End of Sentence.” And the beginning of more questions…
“Period. End of Sentence.” A 26 minute documentary that looks at women in an Indian village who are donated a sanitary pad-making machine. More recently, the film is making waves for having won an Oscar. source Clearly, it is changing times in India...
Making the Switch…Frederique
Feb 25, 2019 | Blog, Making the switch
For our French campaign this week, 'Du Rouge Au Vert' - Eco Femme ambassador and retailer, Frédérique shares her making the switch story in French (English translation below) Comment je suis passé d’une consommation de produits d’hygiène jetables à une...
The Language of Menstruation
Feb 14, 2019 | Blog, Culture, Projects page.
"It is important to examine the language we use, or the language that we have been forbidden to use, and question how it is instrumental in constructing how we think about our body and self....When we don’t talk about menstruation, when we emphasise the...
10 reasons to switch to cloth pads
Nov 12, 2018 | Blog, Making the switch
1. They’re lovely and soft against your skin so you hardly feel like you’re wearing a pad. 2. They’re flexible so they mould to the curve of your body and move with you. 3. There’s no sticky backing so you never get your pubic hair agonisingly pulled if you get your...
How to wash my Cloth Pad? (PART 3: About our Cloth Pad Soap)
Nov 2, 2018 | Blog, Health & Hygiene, Product
You’ve become interested in using a menstrual product that is healthier for the environment and for your body. You are considering or already made the switch to washable cloth pads. What about choosing a soap to clean your cloth pads? It should be effective, but it...
How to wash my cloth pad? PART 2: Choosing a soap
Nov 1, 2018 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
You’ve become interested in using a menstrual product that is healthier for the environment and for your body. You are considering or already made the switch to washable cloth pads. But what about choosing a washing detergent to clean your cloth pads? It should be...
How to Wash my Cloth Pad? (PART 1: A Washing Routine)
Oct 30, 2018 | Blog, Health & Hygiene, Home.
If you are reading this either you are considering or already made the switch to this reusable menstrual product. And now you are wondering about how to wash your cloth pad? Here is a blog article that gives you some cleaning tips...and is followed by PART 2: Choosing...
Menstruation flood relief in Kerala
Aug 22, 2018 | Blog, Environment
The humanitarian crisis facing Kerala in the wake of the devastating flooding has prompted many concerned individuals and organisations to contact us regarding providing our reusable cloth pads to those affected and the big question is: “what products are best...
Unlearning Menstruation: Sanitary Waste in India
Aug 13, 2018 | Blog, Environment
Every year India produces 9000 tonnes of Sanitary Waste... ...which is about 90% as heavy as the Eiffel Tower. And like the famous French structure, our sanitary “footprint” will far outlive our own lives, and remain for the generations to come. It is becoming common...
Toxic Chemicals in Disposable Pads & Tampons
Mar 2, 2018 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
The prevalence of toxic chemicals in today’s world is no longer a question.... from the food we eat and the cleaning products in our homes, to our medicine and makeup. It may come as a surprise to learn that they are also in our menstrual products, such as disposable...
Unlearning Menstruation: Men in Menstruation
Feb 23, 2018 | Blog, Culture, Projects page.
Men in menstruation – are we addressing the elephant in the room? Conversations with men can reveal a lot... “Women never include us in menstruation matters. They talk in whispers and codes all the time” “A woman is impure during menstruation. I will not touch my wife...
Unlearning Menstruation: From Padman to Padpeople
Continuing the conversation Padman: it hardly needs an introduction. The film, inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, has punched a long overdue, pad sized hole in a subject typically defined by shame and silence: menstruation. After discovering...
Periods and Seizures: What is Catamenial Epilepsy?
Jan 8, 2018 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
That time of the month can sometimes be a hassle, what with expensive sanitary products, pain, bloating, the general desire to fall into a pit and never crawl out again. All of those things add to the already unpleasant yet (sometimes) mandatory experience that...
Making the Switch…Kavya
Dec 11, 2017 | Blog, Making the switch
Kavya Menon, a biotechnology graduate from IIT Madras, worked with rural communities to understand the need for menstrual hygiene, addressed taboos and introduced simple home remedies during her SBI Youth Fellowship tenure. Currently, she resides in Chennai, and...
Why switch to organic cotton cloth pads?
Nov 20, 2017 | Blog, Environment, Health & Hygiene, Shop India, Shop international
Organic certified pads, why is that important? Many people might make the assumption that organic product certification is about products that are not harmful to the environment but few people know that this label covers a wider scope of ethical and social concerns....
Pads for Sisters programme
Did you know that with every pad you buy, you contribute to subsidising the price of pads sold to economically disadvantaged women in India? Our Pads for Sisters programme was launched in 2013 to make our cloth pads economically accessible to women who...
Eco Femme & the Tibetan Community in India
Oct 30, 2017 | Blog, Ecosisterhood., Education
Eco Femme has been cultivating a strong relationship with the Tibetan community in India with ambassadors such as Kalsang Dolma and Pema Llamo leading the work. Read about our recent visit to Ladakh here. Kalsang was born in Tibet but moved to India with her...
Eco Femmes’ guide to Period Tracking Apps
This guide to period tracking apps was written on the day of Saraswati (or Ayudha) Puja, celebrated all across India. As the mythological story goes, on this day the Goddess Saraswati created powerful weapons to kill the demon ‘Magishasuran’. These weapons were then...
Natural Menstruation
Sep 25, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
Natural Menstruation -No need for Menstrual Products? Is this really possible! Talking about our menstrual flow, you might wonder just what would we do without our menstrual products? Without pads, tampons, cups or otherwise? If you type ‘natural menstruation’, ‘free...
Eco Femme in Ladakh
From 5th - 20th July 2017, Kathy Walking, Nikethana Venkatesan and Mamta Kandari represented Eco Femme, Auroville on a visit to Zanskar Valley, Ladakh in collaboration with Roots Collective, an NGO based in Ladakh. The organisations Zanskar Adventure Point and Roots...
Spanish week
Our newest volunteer, Ximena, is from Argentina...so we decided to have a Spanish week! She shares her personal experiences below. Stay tuned over on our social media all week to learn more! Bienvenid@s a la Semana en Español! Nos alegramos de compartir e intercambiar...
Menstruation: How much do we Bleed?
Aug 16, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene, Home.
By Stephanie Kraus Every month a woman that menstruates uses some kind of method to handle her blood flow. We can see the blood going into the pad, into the tampon or menstrual cup and into the toilet basin. But have you ever wondered how much do you bleed? What is...
GST – what does it mean?
You may have heard the acronym 'GST' being used extensively over the past month or so, especially if you live here in India. Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax applicable throughout India which replaced multiple cascading taxes levied by the...
The AVIVA Method: Self-Help For Your Menstruation!
Jun 28, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
Have you ever wondered, right there and then when you are having those menstrual cramps: "Just WHAT can I do!" Besides slipping a pain killer tablet into your mouth, withdrawing under your bed covers and calling it a day. It is great to have a simple tool that is...
PAD FOR PAD 2016-17 REPORT
Jun 21, 2017 | Blog, Education
Here is a report on our Pad for Pad progress from 2016-17. Target for the year 2016-17: As Eco Femme continues to see sustained growth in commercial sales which finance the Pad for Pad program, we aimed to expand our reach from 4000 girls to 6000 – 2,000 via...
Making the switch… Vanessa and Erdmuthe
Jun 14, 2017 | Ambassadors., Blog, Making the switch
Vanessa and Erdmuthe run Alternulltiv, a zero waste initiative in Hamberg, Germany. They are also Eco Femme ambassadors and share info on reusable menstrual products as part of their workshops. Thanks for sharing your story ladies! 🙂 It all started when we both had...
#ThePadEffect Campaign
May 29, 2017 | Blog, Culture, Education, Environment, Health & Hygiene
From the 1st - 28th May (Menstrual Hygiene Day) we participated in #ThePadEffect campaign lead by Feminism In India (FII) to create more awareness about the harmful effects of disposable, plastic menstrual products and the benefits of switching to sustainable options....
Kelsey’s Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Story
Apr 7, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
In our continued series on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), former Eco Femme volunteer, Kelsey shares her story on living with and managing this condition. We thank her for sharing her journey, wish her well and send our love! If you think you may have Polycystic...
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): Shipra’s Story
Mar 27, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
To continue our theme on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), former Eco Femme volunteer turned ambassador, Shipra, shares her story of living with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). We're so grateful for her honest and open sharing of this health issue. To learn more...
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – A Guide
Mar 20, 2017 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
Despite Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome remaining the most common ovulatory disorder of the female reproductive system affecting a really high 4-12% of women, it's still very difficult to diagnose. An estimated 50% of women who have the condition don't know what...
What Michaela did last summer…
Dec 12, 2016 | Blog, Eco Femme
Our ambassador, Michaela shared with us her experiences of promoting sustainable menstruation over the summer in Sweden. Our thanks to Michaela for sharing and if you're inspired by Michaela's work in sharing Eco Femme and discussing sustainable menstruation...
Ecofemmetastic!
A cloth pad revolution is the enterprise's dream, But who are the individuals behind the Eco Femme team? Let us begin with Kathy, for the group she co-christened, Take her wise advice to your problems, as to them, she will have listened. Alongside her, Jessamijn, with...
How to take care of your cloth pads during the seasonal showers.
In India, who doesn't love a good shower of rain? But we understand that it poses a challenge to using cloth pads as we recommend drying them under the sun or in the open. Here are a couple of suggestions and practical tips that can help in the process of...
Let’s Talk About Menstruation!
Sep 27, 2016 | Blog, Education, Home.
Stephanie's Story Today I am on the first day of my period and as I begin to write this article. Here I am sitting in front of the computer on Day 1 of my menstrual cycle, I am tired and don’t feel like concentrating. I am feeling good overall but I’d just like to...
Making the switch…Melanie
Sep 26, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
Former Eco Femme team member, Melanie, shares her story with us. Merci Melanie! 🙂 It's been a while now that I promised my colleague Laura I'd sit down and tell my story on switching to sustainable menstrual products...Today is the day! I'm now 24 years old and I...
Be good to yourself: Self Help for your Menstruation
Aug 25, 2016 | Blog, Health & Hygiene
While there are ailments which do require the assistance of health professionals, there are many good habits that can bring comfort during menstruation which apply to all phases of the menstrual cycle. Stress, poor diet, lack of sleep and an irregular lifestyle can...
Making the switch…Yael
Aug 24, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
Our ambassador in Israel, Yael shares her making the switch story... Well, the first time I got to know this beautiful idea, was during the time I was a nature activist. I volunteered for 3 years in a non profitable green organization in a commune life. We were...
Disposable Menstrual Products: Convenience at What Cost?
Aug 4, 2016 | Blog, Environment, Health & Hygiene
Traditionally, women all over the world have used cloth to handle their monthly menstrual flow. These days, however, disposable menstrual products such as pads and tampons are more commonly used around the world. Promoted for their convenience, these products are...
ALL HAIL QUEEN ECO FEMME: The enterprise encouraging women to leak chic in a country of contradiction
Aug 2, 2016 | Blog, Culture, Ecosisterhood.
India is a melting pot of differences; twenty-nine states, seven union territories, six major religions, twenty two official languages, and dry, desert climates alongside months of monsoon(1). Although existing in vague harmony(2), a kaleidoscope nation like this...
Making the switch…Hattie
Jul 14, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
One of our UK ambassadors, Hattie, shares her making the switch story. Thanks Hattie! My journey into making the switch from disposable to reusable sanitary products began with a desire to cut down on the amount of waste I produced as an individual. I didn't realise...
Making the switch…Kathy
May 26, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
Eco Femme co-founder Kathy shares her making the switch story... When I moved to India to live in Auroville 18 years ago, one of the first things that I found myself having to contend with was how to dispose of my sanitary waste. In the west, there is at least the...
Pad for Pad report 2015-16
Here is a report on our Pad for Pad progress from 2015-16. Target for the year 2015-16: Our plan was to reach out to 4000 girls – half through sessions we directly implement with girls in our bio-region and half via implementation partners spread across the...
Jane’s Magical Menstrual Tour Q&A
Apr 25, 2016 | Blog, Education
We caught up Jane, one of our ambassadors from Woman’s Wheel, about what makes a ‘menstrual pilgrim’ go to a country she knows no-one on a Magical Menstrual Tour’… When did you first come up with the idea of the tour? Hahaha no surprises here, it came to me...
Making the switch…Parul
Mar 16, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
Eco Femme supporter Parul shares her story... I was fortunate enough to have parents who didn't consider menstruation a taboo and I could freely talk about it at home. Moreover, at school, we had an orientation programme for the same to acquaint young girls about safe...
Making the Switch…Rajasi
Feb 17, 2016 | Blog, Making the switch
Rajasi shares her making the switch story. Thank you for sharing Rajasi! It's been 15 years I'm bleeding and I decided to write a reflection about it. I remember how my mother had handed me my grandmas' old saree and taught me how to use cloth. The cloth folds were...
Comical Menstrual Music
Need a laugh? Want to learn the benefits of menstrual cups? Curious about what menopause is? Check out these humourous, melodious messages! Lena D - Period Piece: Tampon vs Mooncup rap battle: Ellen Dolgen - Menopause Mondays:
Making the switch…Jane
Oct 19, 2015 | Blog, Making the switch
UK ambassador and founder of Woman's Wheel, Jane shares her making the switch story... My story about making the switch starts with me standing at my bright red front door in North Wales in 2012! My rucksack was packed and I grabbed my helmet before locking the...
Making the switch…Laura
Sep 19, 2015 | Blog, Making the switch
Eco Femme team member Laura, shares how she came to make the switch. Thinking back to the first time I learned of my fate as a female makes me laugh. I must have been around 10 or 11 and my mother told me that soon I would start bleeding every month and would continue...
Making the switch…Caroline
Sep 5, 2015 | Blog, Making the switch
One of our UK ambassadors and founder of Campaign for Cloth, Caroline shares her making the switch story. I’m relatively new to the wonders of reusable pads, but after nearly two years of using them I can honestly say I will never use disposables again. I used...
From our ambassador, Johanna.
Aug 27, 2015 | Ambassadors., Blog, Eco Femme
We love to see how our ambassadors are getting on and wanted to share with you an event that our ambassador, Johanna, attended a few weeks back. Thanks for sharing Johanna! ???? I want to share some wonderful experiences with you. I got quite involved with this...
Making the switch…Laurie
Aug 21, 2015 | Blog, Making the switch
In the first of our 'Making the switch' blog posts, Eco Femme volunteer Laurie recounts her earliest experiences of menstrual education and how this shaped her experience. Upon questioning what made me make the switch, my logical and inquisitive mind (OK, not...
Eco Femme goes to Chattisgarh
Between the 15th -20th June, our Pad for Pad facilitator Harishini made the journey up to Balrampur district in Chattisgarh. The aim was to conduct some workshops using our 'Make Your Own' kit where the women and girls would get to make their own pads following on...
Sanitary Napkin Revolution- Does India need it?
In 2015, author and menstrual health educator Sinu Joseph posted a provocative blog on Swarajya online magazine titled “Why India doesn't need the sanitary napkin revolution”. Is it that simple? Yes to revolution or no? Joseph’s article raises...
The Menstrual Eco-System: A view from Society for Menstrual Cycle Research 2015 Conference
Jul 8, 2015 | Education
Our dear friend, Ilana attended the Menstrual Cycle Research 2015 Conference on 4th - 6th June - here, she writes about her time there and mentions some of the highlights from the conference. Our thanks Ilana! In early June Eco Femme participated in the Society for...
Convenience at what cost?
May 11, 2015 | Environment, Health & Hygiene
Traditionally, women all over the world have used cloth to handle their monthly menstrual flow. These days, however, disposable menstrual products have become commonplace in many countries and are now gaining popularity around the world. Promoted for their...
Fun and Lovely Ways to Introduce Menstruation
Apr 13, 2015 | Blog, Education
Language is not neutral; even when we want introduce menstruation to our daughters, younger female relatives or even sons, the scripts and resources commonly available tend to cast menstruation in a negative light—or make it purely biological. Here are some creative...
Breaking the Silence on the Incineration of Menstrual Waste
Apr 3, 2015 | Blog, Environment
In the last decade, the subject of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) has witnessed an encouraging upsurge. The stakeholders are asserting the need for breaking the silence of the patriarchal socio-cultural system in India. Women’s empowerment is at the heart of...
Wellbeeing – a new retailer in Bangalore
Mar 20, 2015 | Blog, Eco Femme
Wellbeeing is our newest retailer based in Bangalore. Here is a little about their work and why they were inspired to stock Eco Femme pads. Wellbeeing (a unit of Aurazia Wellness Pvt Ltd) is an integrated health and wellness centre. It is a creative and unique blend...
Eco Femme visits Auroville Eco Service
Mar 2, 2015 | Blog, Environment
On the 17th February Eco Femme team members Jessamijn, Laura and Damla visited the Auroville Eco Service to attend the 1Hour initiative set up by a volunteer, Alex, working at the waste management centre. "Waste management is one of the biggest challenges of India and...
Our new retailer in Colombia.
Feb 11, 2015 | Blog, Eco Femme
An introduction today from our first Colombian Eco Femme retailer, Manuela. As always, our thanks for sharing your story! Hello, my name is Manuela Varela and I want to introduce you to Hermágica, my feminine undertaking. It was born at 2012 in Bogota, Colombia (South...
My Womb, My Mother Earth
Last Friday, an workshop took place at the Eco Femme headquarters in collaboration with Dhartimata Sustainable Workshop entitled My Womb, My Mother Earth. Hsiu Ping Lin of Dhartimata and Bonte Handmade Jewelry explains her project: "It started with a very simple idea...
Isa and her work
We wanted to share a bit about a truly amazing lady, Isa, a nurse and environmentalist, living in Madhya Pradesh, central India. She conducts educational sessions and promotes Eco Femme pads from the rural range to village women from the surrounding area. The first 2...
Introducing Eco Store, Eco Femme’s newest retailer.
Dec 22, 2014 | Blog, Eco Femme
Today, we are happy to introduce Eco Store in Bangalore as our newest retailer. Our thanks to Seshu for this introduction. "The Eco Store" was started in the month of July, 2012 in Bangalore, by two Ex-IT professionals who wanted to give back something good to the...
Lets talk about it!
Dec 15, 2014 | Blog, Environment
Another fabulous article from Jane about why we need to open up the conversation around menstruation. As always, our thanks for sharing, Jane! Lets talk about it! Awareness, understanding, knowledge and open frank discussion can all be catalysts for amazingly positive...
A new retailer in Kerala.
Oct 30, 2014 | Blog, Eco Femme
Today we hear from Bilal who runs a shop, Arcra, in Cochin in Kerala. Our thanks for sharing Bilal! I became interested in selling and promoting Ecofemme washable pads mainly because they're environmentally friendly. There is so much waste, especially sanitary...
Why Track Your Menstrual Cycle?
Another informative article from Jane about how much we can learn by tracking our menstrual cycles, shared with thanks from her blog, The Moon and the Womb. Menstrual cycle charts such as the one found in Eco Femme’s ‘make your own cloth pad’ kits are a really...
An introduction from one of our newest retailers:
Today, we hear from one of our newest retailers, Saravanan Varatharajan who is based in Coimbatore. Over the coming months we will be introducing some of our retailers and sharing their stories to give you an idea of the people who help us to make all this possible....
Cloth Pad Stitching – A Woman’s Gathering
Oct 1, 2014 | Blog, Eco Femme, Ecosisterhood.
Another wonderful piece from one of our ambassadors, Jane. She held a cloth pad stitching session using our Make Your Own Kits with the ladies from her Red Tent group. You can read about how the session went and once again, our thanks to Jane for her inspirational...
Meet our new Full Cycle Kit!
Sep 26, 2014 | Blog, Eco Femme, Health & Hygiene
We are happy to present our new Full Cycle Kit! This kit introduces you to our pad range, containing different pad sizes to use during different times of your monthly cycle. Our newest kit is a great way to make the switch to a greener period and makes a great...
An introduction from one of our Ambassadors…
Sep 19, 2014 | Blog, Eco Femme
This is a piece written by one of our ambassadors, Jane. She runs a Red Tent womens group and uses some of that group time to talk about and demonstrate our pads. There are a number of ways to get involved as an ambassador for Eco Femme and we are so grateful to Jane...