Note: All of the following information was taken from OrganiCup.com
It was always about more than cups
Half the population on Earth have periods for a large part of their lives. Yet no major period innovations have happened in over 85 years.
Consider the amount of waste created each month by disposable period products. Consider the chemicals they often contain – that we put inside our bodies. Consider the young girls who stay away from school because they are ashamed of their periods.
We’re on a journey to change the way periods affect our lives, our bodies and our environment.
We believe no one should be held back by their body. We believe no period products should contain harmful chemicals or absorb natural bodily secretions. Periods should not be the cause of major pollution. And they should never, ever be a source of shame.
Creating this world is what it’s about. And you — our users — are driving this change. Together, we’re breaking down barriers.
Together, we’re unfolding a #NewPeriod of periods.
An individual uses 11,000 disposable period products in a lifetime
Tampons, pads and pantyliners along with their packaging and individual wrapping generate more than 200.000 tonnes of waste per year, and typically all contain plastic. This waste mostly ends up in landfills, sewages, on our beaches and in our oceans.
While the actual products contribute largely to the environmental issue, their life-cycle is just as damaging – from the raw material extraction, which typically involves the production of cotton and the use of pesticides and insecticides, to the fact that most pads contain polyethylene plastic (the adhesive that’s used to make the pad stick to your underwear) and most tampons also contain chemicals such as dioxin, chlorine and rayon. While the products sit in landfills, these chemicals get soaked up by the earth and are released as pollution into the groundwater and air.
is how long it can take for pads and tampons to degrade.
disposable period products are flushed down the toilet every day in the UK alone.
99,9% less waste
528 tampons or 1 cup,
3 kilos or 30 grams
Unlike disposable period products, the OrganiCup is reusable for years and it has a minimal impact on the environment compared to tampons and pads.
Silicone is derived from quartz, a type of sand, which is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust and not hazardous to the environment. Additionally, the OrganiCup is not colored, avoiding any additives.
The packaging is made from recyclable carton and all instructions have been printed directly on the packaging to prevent additional waste. Furthermore, the packaging is minimised in size to reduce emissions from transportation. Our cotton storage bag is made from unbleached organic cotton.
Results this far
of tampon/pad waste saved by people switching to OrganiCup.
disposable period products avoided.
Periods are taboo everywhere until periods are taboo nowhere
To this day periods are still surrounded by silence, myths and taboos across nearly all cultures.
This attitude towards periods is greatly due to lack of knowledge. Not being able to ask questions about how to manage periods or the different period products can lead to shame and affect the way one feels about themselves and their body. It’s important to create positive environments that can foster this conversation – involving not only girls but also boys from early on, in order to avoid perpetuating stigmas.
of girls in the UK feel embarrassed by their period.
1 in 5
girls and young women in the UK are bullied about their periods.
Breaking barriers together with our community and partners
We believe, it’s important to break the silence by raising awareness and supporting the efforts to destigmatize periods and challenge that cultural taboo.
For this reason, the partners we support and the platforms we’ve built focus on elevating the conversation about periods and our bodies.
We don’t shy away from saying ‘period’ or ‘menstruation’ or using red liquid instead of blue. We aim to use this positive environment to inform and interact with our community in an interesting, down-to-earth and truthful manner.
Period Education Program
We donated 660 cups to City to Sea’s “Rethink Periods”. The project involves 600 schools in England and provides teacher training and product demo boxes for schools to keep and use for generations to come.
Oxford Circus Station Ad
In 2019, we put period poverty and the taboo around it in the spotlight. More specifically, across screens in London’s Oxford Circus station. We wanted to go beyond simply promoting a menstrual cup so we showed statistics highlighting the impact periods have in our societies, namely in the UK.
Taboo: Global Periods
Taboo: Global Periods is an ongoing project, exploring the implications of periods in people’s lives around the globe. We aim to uncover how periods are dealt with in different cultures.
Donation of Cups to Sex Workers
We donated 35 cups to WoMena for their pilot project that aims to assess how menstrual cups are accepted among foreign sex workers in Copenhagen. The results so far are positive. Scaling up the project is being considered.
Work with Health Professionals
Because cups are only now becoming a more popular period product, we want to educate users and health professionals. We work with school nurses, as well as gynaecologists, offering samples and informational material so they can teach about all period products available.
Trying the Cup for the First Time
With this initiative, we highlighted the stories of some of the remarkable women we are lucky to call our collaborators. These are stories of daring to do things differently – from dedicated athletes to proactive leaders.
Period poverty: The overlooked global issue
Accessibility to period products in developing countries has for long been a known issue and girls have had to use make-shift solutions to manage their periods. What’s more, in recent years, it’s been brought to the world’s attention that period poverty is also very present in developed countries.
No matter where, lack of access to period products limit girls and women from living their daily lives and exercising their basic rights – such as getting an education, going to work or even socializing.
To tackle period poverty, we need to address the issue at hand by providing those in need with a sustainable way of managing their periods.
of girls in India never heard about menstruation before their first period.
1 in 10
African girls miss school during their period which eventually leads to a higher school dropout rate.
We believe access to safe and hygienic period products should be a basic human right
That is why we take it as our mission to provide a sustainable and scalable solution to end period poverty.
Together with our partner NGOs both in developing and developed countries, we aim to ensure those in need receive proper education about menstrual health and have access to period products.
Map of our partners
WoMena have set up different projects in Uganda. The organisation, together with their partner Marie Stopes Uganda, provide female health professionals with menstrual cup training and sales techniques so they can sell menstrual cups through different sales channels in the West Nile, Gulu, Kabale, Central and Tororo Region for a small profit.
The employment opportunity is a valuable resource that provides the women with entrepreneurial skills which lead to empowerment.
We have also donated cups to WoMena’s pilot project in a refugee camp in Greece where the cups are distributed and the girls and women received education on menstrual health management.
Freedom 4 Girls
Freedom4Girls was set up to fight period poverty and lack of menstrual education in Kenya, where 60% of girls and women don’t have access to safe sanitary protection and use ash, leaves, dung and old rags to manage their periods.
Freedom4Girls brought the issues in the UK to worldwide attention last year and are now working to give women and girls in the UK the choice of reusable alternatives and good quality education of how to manage periods and at the same time work to get rid of the stigma and taboo.
So far, we have donated 916 cups to Freedom4Girls, a UK-based NGO.
PeriodLink is a youth-run nonprofit aiming to empower women and keep girls in education by providing reusable menstrual items.
The founders, Marina Tricks and Peace Silly, are two young women, freshly out of high school, who are passionate about helping women gain confidence and the means to live their lives normally.
We have proudly partnered up with them on their mission to help girls and women achieve their maximum potential and have donated 360 cups to their projects in the rural regions of Ghana.
The most used method of period management in Ghana is the ‘homemade alternative’ – usually consisting of old rags. Sometimes unhygienic materials such as mud, leaves and animal skin are also used. By offering the girls an effective, healthy and long-term alternative, they are making an impact on the communities and the knowledge that using a cup won’t interrupt a school day has sparked excitement and opportunity with the girls.
Results this far
of menstrual cups
in more than 15 countries