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6 Best Reusable Pads In India That Are Pocket Friendly!
Women’s web, 14 January 2023
Reusable pads are becoming increasingly popular, and that too for all the right reasons. An article introduced me to the concept of reusable pads. What was intriguing is that these organic pads contain zero additives and dyes, unlike disposable pads. They have superior absorbency levels and are made of breathable fabric, making them an ideal choice for all.
If, like me, you too have decided to switch to reusable pads, several options are available in the Indian market. Read on to learn about some of the reusable pads in India. Read More…
About Eco Femme
The Eco Story, 2022
We must bring you the best from the ocean of products in India to maintain your sustainable lifestyle healthily and fashionable. Moreover, we care for you ladies and your babies.
They say, “knowledge is good, but half knowledge can be dangerous.”
Throughout this era, we’ve been told that using cloth is harmful while you are menstruating, and we were pushed or encouraged toward using pads and tampons. But do you know? Even pads and tampons aren’t healthy for you and the environment during the time of the month. Read More…
Sustainable Menstruation: A Personal, Step-By-Step Guide To Making DIY Cloth Pads
Feminism in India, 16 September 2022
‘My journey into sustainable menstruation has been inspiring and life-changing’, writes the author, in this step-by-step guide to making cloth pads. Read More…
About our co-founder Kathy Walkling
The Eco Story, 2022
Kathy Walkling is the co-founder of Eco Femme. She is an environmentalist, activist, and speaker who works to spread awareness on menstrual hygiene and such topics considered a stigma in society.
Eco friendly brands to shop
Marie Claire UK, 30 June 2021
Environmental activist Ella Daish shares the top eco-friendly period products from her book, the Eco Period Brand Bible.
FYI, eco period products aren’t that hard to find anymore.
They’re a silent killer. Stats show that period products can contain up to 90% plastic and take over 500 years to break down. 100 billion period products are thrown away every year and, in the UK alone, 1.3 billion plastic tampon applicators are thrown away. Read More…
7 Eco-Friendly Menstrual Products For Those Looking To Make Greener Choices
Homegrown, 8 June 2021
Let’s do some math, real quick. (Yeah, a sentence we never thought we’d write either.) A woman’s average period lasts five days. That’s five to seven days, every month, every year, for a good 40 years or so, of our lives. If you do the math (which we’re not going to do, and borrow from an article dedicated to the same)—that’s approximately TEN WHOLE YEARS of continuous bleeding. That’s also, ten whole years of disposable menstrual products, wherein each person goes through at least two to three products per day. Let’s round that up to…10,000-11,000 pieces, per woman, on this planet. Do you see where we’re going with this?
No? Well, this conversation can go two ways. Read More…
The best eco-friendly sanitary brands worth trying now
Vogue Singapore, 5 January 2021
It’s 2021 and single use plastics are out, with reusables like straws and water bottles part of our everyday lives (or at least, we’re getting there). Thankfully for people with periods, attention has now turned to sanitary products. From washable applicators to reusable discs and menstrual cups, manufacturers behind menstrual products are finding ever more innovative ways to lessen their impact on the environment.
Not only are they inventive, but they’re a worthy investment, too. Considering that the average woman has her period for 2535 days of her life, buying a product that you can clean and reuse seems pretty practical. In the UK, an estimated 1.5 billion sanitary items are flushed down the toilet each year (note: never flush anything but toilet paper down there) and the average woman will dispose of 11,000 sanitary items in a lifetime. Many of these products end up in oceans or in landfill, and as 90 per cent of sanitary products are made from plastic, they’re not biodegradable. Read More…
Reusable sanitary pads: Cotton and fibre pads for eco-friendly periods
Times of India, 18 August 2020
Want to make an eco-friendly switch? Here is a list of some of the most popular reusable sanitary pad options that you can trust and buy online.
Meet The 45-Yr-Old ‘Padman’ Who Makes Pads That Can Be Used Upto 75 Times
The logical Indian, 12 January 2020
For the past two years, Omkar Sathe, a resident of Pune, has been advocating the use of reusable sanitary pads for a healthier life and a cleaner environment, through his organisation ‘Allforasmile’.
While speaking to The Logical Indian, Omkar Sathe, CEO of Allforasmile, said: “Allforasmile is a social enterprise based in Pune, which focuses on livelihood projects. We create market-linked opportunities where women can earn a living.”
The Non-Government Organisation (NGO) carries out several programs, especially in rural areas, to make the general public aware of the issues associated with regular disposable pads. Read More…
5 Social Impact Startups Revolutionising Feminine Care Across Asia
Green Queen, 9 December 2019
For many of us, feminine hygiene and women’s care products seem like a basic necessity. However, in many countries all over the world – including in our own city – millions of women are still unable to gain access to the products, healthcare and education they need. Read More…
Environmentally conscious alternatives to make your monthly cycle a little better
Elle, 18 September 2019
The conversation around our monthly period is slowly changing. Social media is breaking the taboo, phone apps are making it easy to track symptoms (the iWatch OS6 has caught on too), portable gadgets like Livia help soothe period pain, and e-menstrual cups, like Looncup, sync with your mobile phone and send notifications when they need to be emptied. Even though all these inventions haven’t officially made their way to our shores, indie brands in the country are stepping up to provide alternatives that are better for you, and the environment. If you’re switching up your skincare products every few months, maybe it’s high time you update your menstrual stash, too? Read More…
Let’s Talk About Your Period…
Cosmopolitan, 4 August 2018
As a woman born and raised in India, I learnt to not discuss my period. And I’m hardly alone… There are millions of women in the country who feel the need to take home sanitary napkins in black polythene bags, suffer through PMS in silence, or refer to their period as ‘That time of the month’ in order to be able to speak about it. However, it’s not just the taboos and myths around the subject—deep rooted in our culture—that create the illusion that menstruation is inherently ‘shameful’, ‘gross’ or ‘weird’. Read More…
A revolution in the world of sanitation, period!
The New Indian Express, 7 Nov 2016
CHENNAI: Menstruation and hygiene have been issues that women have been concerned about for ages. While the market is filled with disposable sanitary napkins (gel-based pads), environmental activists claim that a single disposable pad can take 500-800 years to decompose. If you’re one of those people who wants to create a sustainable environment but haven’t been able to think of an alternative, here’s your blessing – cloth pads by Eco Femme! Read More…
World Environment Day: 15 Indian Businesses That Deserve Your Custom For Promoting Sustainability
Huffington Post India, 5 June 2015
In the words of a famous muppet, it ain’t easy being green. Walk into a local department store and one’s likely to be surrounded by products that prioritise disposability and convenience over the environment.
An informed and conscientious customer must read the fine print in every product label to analyse the lifecycle of a product, how it affects the user and the environment. To make your buying decisions easier, we reached out to sustainability enthusiasts who gave us their personal recommendations of entities–businesses and non-profits–that are environment conscious. These are brands that make eco-friendliness a core part of their product offering. From organic clothing to composting kits, this roundup looks at entities that can help you make better choices. Read More…
Breaking myths and taboos
The Hindu, 29 May 2014
Half of the world menstruates – at some point of time. Yet nobody talks about it.
Menstruation and menstrual hygiene are issues that concern women all over the world; yet the subject is almost always relegated to whispers. This is something which the first ever World Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed worldwide on Wednesday, hopes to change.
In Auroville, Eco Femme, an organisation that makes reusable sanitary pads, partnering with WASH United, a non-profit organisation, celebrated the occasion at the Visitor’s Centre. Women from villages around Auroville, Aurovilians and visitors who dropped in at the centre were encouraged to participate in an informal session on making hand-stitched cloth pads. Read More…
8 Low Cost And Eco Friendly Ideas Which Have Revolutionized Women’s Sanitary Hygiene In India
The Better India, 28 May 2014
Menstruation is one thing which almost every woman has to deal with. Every month.
Many Indian women still use scrap cloth from old saris and towels, the traditional method for managing menstruation for thousands of years.
On average, a single woman generates 125kg of sanitary waste during her menstruating years when she uses disposable sanitary products. This is avoidable waste.
It is a natural process and yet people, even women, hesitate to talk about it. To break the taboo, a coalition of international and national organisations will observe the first-ever Menstrual Hygiene Day today (May 28). So cheers to a good start and here is a list of 8 brands that offer you cheap, affordable, hygienic and eco friendly pads. Read More…
Back to basics: Eco Femme Puducherry making washable cloth-based sanitary pads
The Hindu, 14 October 2012
Ever wondered what impact menstrual hygiene has on the environment, with all those disposable sanitary pads used and thrown away every month? Can women adapt to healthy, affordable menstrual practices that are also eco-positive? Eleven women in Auroville, Puducherry, are trying to prove just that. They make up Eco Femme, a women’s empowerment and self-help group, that stitches and sells washable cloth-based sanitary pads. The group’s output is 1,600 pads a month — mostly sent to the U.K., the U.S. and the Netherlands. Now Eco Femme is trying to expand within India. Read More…