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!

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 unsure about the root cause? Or [...]

(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 [...]

How to track your cycle? There are many different ways to track your cycle – you can reference the moon and note which moon phase your bleeding starts on or you can keep a creative paper [...]

 by Kalvi Karunanithy and Kathy Walkling.   First of all, let’s understand what period tracking is. Period tracking is a powerful tool to become familiar with your menstrual cycle. We [...]

By Susana Bustos (Eco Femme’s Graphic designer)   I started tracking my cycle one year ago with some reservations. I was used to using birth control pills to take care of my fertility but I [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 – [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

*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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

“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 [...]

  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 [...]

  “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 [...]

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 [...]

You are considering or already made the switch to washable cloth pads. But what about choosing a soap to clean your cloth pads? It should be effective, but it should also not be harmful for your [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

“Chemical soup… a ticking time bomb” “Chemical cocktail”     “Questionable ingredients…”   The prevalence of toxic chemicals in today’s world is no longer a question.  The comments [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

  This weekend, the Saraswati (or Ayudha) puja takes place across India. As per the mythological stories, it was on this day (29th September) that the Goddess Saraswati created powerful [...]

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? [...]

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 [...]

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! [...]

By Stephanie Kraus Every month a woman that is menstruating 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 [...]

  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 [...]

  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, [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

To continue our theme on 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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

  I am starting to write this article today and today I am on the first day of my period. Here I am sitting in front of the computer, I am tired and don’t feel like concentrating. I am feeling [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

  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 [...]

  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 [...]

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). [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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! <3 I want to share [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

In July 2015, Sinu Joseph – a menstrual hygiene educator based in Bangalore – posted a provocative blog on Swarajya online magazine titled “Why India doesn’t need the sanitary napkin [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Language is not neutral; even when we want to talk about menstruation with daughters, younger female relatives or even sons, the scripts and resources commonly available tend to cast menstruation [...]

  In the last decade, the subject of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) has witnessed an encouraging upsurge in stakeholders, asserting the need for breaking the silence that has armoured [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

Masika, the latest offering from Auroville Video Productions, is a documentary that informs women in India about the environmental and social impact of disposable sanitary napkins and suggests [...]

Recently we had a visit from Federica and Elisa of Lunethica, an organisation based in Italy that hosts workshops on how to use menstrual cups and the benefits of this menstrual product for [...]

We are proud to launch our new Eco Femme ‘Make Your Own Washable Cloth Pad Stitching Kit’! This kit includes pre-cut materials to make 3 Day Pad Plus size pads, sewing kit (including needle, [...]

We are honored to present two beautiful works by our lovely volunteers, Elena and Alissa.  Visiting students from the States, they dedicated a great amount of research and effort into producing [...]

Menstrupedia’s wonderful video.  “There are many girls who step into puberty not knowing that their bodies are the most beautiful vessels, with the power to bring forth [...]

Check out this video demonstrating the ease with which Eco Femme’s pads can be cared for!

Why bother? The biggest reason I wash and reuse my cloth menstrual pads is because I cannot stand to throw disposable pads into our growing landfills. The average woman in North America throws [...]

Carrot, gooseberry, mango, lemon, onion, lime, cucumber…ah, pickles and chutneys.  Salty, spicy and savory, these compulsory condiments are essential to enjoying any South Indian tali, and [...]

Eco Femme is dedicated to the health and education of women, and we love news of progression! In rural India, customary cultural practices and beliefs perpetuate a heavy, palpable silence [...]

We’re going to begin blogging on a regular basis, so this is the start of something big!