Cloth menstrual pads have always been a part of women’s lives for those living in under-developed countries due to their cost effectiveness. The benefit of these pads being reusable is not only that they save users money but that they save on waste.
Even though these pads have been in continuous use in some developing countries, they were replaced by disposables pads in developed countries, with each ‘one-use-only’ article adding to waste management problems upon disposal. ‘Greening up’ periods is a burdgeoning topic and Tree Hugger cloth menstrual pads have been designed with this in mind and their market is north America and Europe. These hand-sewn cloth pads are made in Canada by work-at-home women and they even have an option to ship worldwide!This Canadian business model had a very high likelihood of failure given the the general reliance upon plastic pads and tampons but surprisingly, sales of these eco-friendly pads have picked up and they are now very much in demand.
They even got an opportunity to pitch their business plan on Dragons’ Den, a Canadian series which features entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to venture capitalists for investment finance. Yesterday’s airing of their episode has made their product even more famous, with over 18,000 Facebook likes – could cloth pads be the new trend?
These pads are environmental friendly, are more beneficial to female health as they circumvent the build up bacteria that occurs with the plastic variety, and are great reusable alternative to disposable sanitary napkins. Tree Hugger also plants a tree in Madagascar for every sale they make, so they are definitely helping to curb the carbon footprint in a much greater way.
Data on Treehugger.com (not related) states that a woman will use up to 16,800 disposable pads and tampons during her lifetime. Tree Hugger cloth pads can replace 200 disposables with 1 eco pad is a great, safe, eco-friendlier alternative to disposables.
