Periods, painting the town red, surfing the crimson wave, the devil’s waterfall, whatever you want to call it: the majority of women experience monthly menstruation. But despite it being a natural part of female life, most of us are guilty of considering our periods as “gross” and “disgusting”.
“No More Taboo” is an initiative which aims to break taboos around the world regarding periods. They sell eco-friendly and reusable menstrual products as well as working with NGOs to educate women about menstruation and provide appropriate sanitary products in hope of changing worldwide attitudes to periods.
I spoke to Chloe Tingle, the founder and director of the enterprise.
Firstly, how did you come up with the idea for “No More Taboo” and what inspired you?
I’ve volunteered and worked with charities since being a teenager and the most challenging aspect is always ensuring there are enough funds particularly to cover overheads. The idea of social enterprise fascinated me that you can support charitable aims or social causes, without having to rely on donations and grants, as you have a revenue stream through sales.
After my degree, I wanted to gain international development experience and went to work with Fundacion Sodis a Bolivian water and sanitation charity. The more research I did the more the topic fascinated me, having travelled quite a bit and always taken my trusty Mooncup with me I had never even considered the impacts menstruation can have on your life if you live in poverty.
I spent time with a group of Bolivian teenage girls who were eager to learn more having never received any education on menstruation. They believed amongst other things that if you ate onions whilst on your period you would get cancer. However, these same girls who were using dirty floor rags as their only form of sanitary product had great concern for “Pacha Mama”(Mother Earth) and the damage that using disposable pads could have on the environment. Which made me think, why are we not doing more in the UK?
On my return to the UK, I started “No More Taboo” hoping that alongside helping women living in poverty to manage their menstruation we could also educate people about the impact disposable products have on the environment and that there are alternative products available.
(Image: No More Taboo)
A lot of the statistics surrounding attitudes to periods around the world are rather shocking, such as 1 in 10 African girls missing school during their period. How does “No More Taboo” and the charitable projects you support try and tackle these issues?
Our focus in developing communities is to build sustainable long-lasting partnerships with local NGOs and organisations who understand the culture, community and in particular the taboos and traditions around menstruation. We build these relationships slowly to ensure that we fully understand one another, we make sure the organisation is working with local people in each community, as cultural practices around menstruation vary significantly even from village to village. Education and training is key here, it is no good turning up as an outsider to the community, preaching about a product that they don’t understand and will never use, giving a load away for free and disappearing again. This is a bad way of doing international development and unfortunately is all too common.
We believe in providing women and girls with education around menstruation. We also give access to appropriate sanitary products by working with the community to understand individuals needs and ensuring we are providing something they want and will use. We also help provide female friendly toilets with locks, bins and water inside the cubicle.
In terms of the UK, do you think taboos still exist regarding periods? If so, what are these?
The most obvious taboo is menstrual waste. No-one is talking about this, but we use 11,000 disposable pads or tampons in a lifetime, which is 150kg of waste. The UK is producing 200,000 tons of menstrual waste a year, the majority of which is plastic. One pad is the equivalent of 4 plastic bags which we banned last year but noone mentions that.
Another taboo is menstruation and homelessness and poverty. People living in poverty in the UK are often forced to use toilet paper or to make an awful decision between buying their next meal or a tampon.
Also, there is still a deep rooted belief that menstrual blood is dirty, saying “Ewwww but what if I get it on my hands!” It is the same blood as the blood that comes from a cut. We don’t mind sneezing into our hand yet people seem to be terrified of menstrual blood.
Men and boys still have little knowledge about menstruation in general, because no-one tells them about it when they are younger and they have to work things out from listening to whispers. There are definitely still taboos in the UK. This is why so much of our work here focuses on education and advocacy. We are currently trialling our interactive workshop in secondary schools called “Smashing Taboos.”
(Image: This photo was banned from Rupi Kaur’s Instagram page because it “violated community guidelines”)
Are washable pads and menstrual cups as hygienic as tampons and regular pads? In your opinion, what are the advantages of these products over conventional menstrual products?
This is a common misconception around reusable products. Did you know that there are absolutely no regulations on what companies making pads and tampons can put in their products? This means they can use whatever chemical is cheapest at the time. White doesn’t necessarily signify cleanliness, it signifies bleach. A chemical which can induce nasty reactions they have also been found to contain dioxins which is a known human carcinogen.
Reusable washable pads (pictured below) are made of soft organic materials so they cause no irritation. Menstrual cups are made of 100% medical grade silicon which means it is completely inert so you can use it for up to 12 hours and there are no worries of toxic shock syndrome like tampons. The best thing in my own opinion about reusables is that you know that its clean and hygienic because you sterilise it yourself, by washing on a hot wash or by sterilising with a baby bottle steriliser tablet.
As students, pricing is a huge motivation in terms of the products we choose. Would you say the products that “No More Taboo” sells are cost-effective?
The average UK woman spends between £65 and £95 per year on disposable sanitary products. That’s over £3500 in their lifetime.
The average woman menstruates for 37.5 years. So, if you switch to a menstrual cup, you will need maximum 4 cups (as each one lasts 10 years), saving around £90 per year or £3400 over a lifetime. So it pays for itself in around 7 months.
If you switch to reusable pads, you will save around £80 per year or £3000 over a lifetime.
These products are more expensive initially compared to a disposable but in the long run they save you so much money.
(Image: No More Taboo)
What advice would you give to students who are keen to get involved in an ethical enterprise such as No More Taboo?
Volunteer and get experience, whilst doing something you love. For me I love to travel and so used my Uni holidays for trips overseas to gain a better understanding of international development (as well as having fun).
Use your time at university to access as much as possible, there is a wealth of knowledge there at your fingertips. In particular, I would not be where I am today if I hadn’t been so involved with the organisation Engineers Without Borders.
28th May 2016 is Menstrual Hygiene Day and No More Taboo are hosting a Period Party at the Arts House Cafe. What can we expect from the event and what exactly is a Period Party?!
We want to celebrate all things periods! I know a “period party” sounds a bit scary but that’s exactly why we are hosting one to make it less scary. You can find out more about our international projects and homelessness in the UK projects. Enjoy free tea and cake and take a moment to chat about menstruation. We will have a quiz, a Q&A booth and you can come and see all the different reusable products that we sell in person.
We are hoping to host period parties in people’s homes in the future and this is one of the rewards on our crowdfunding campaign which goes live on the 18th May so we wanted to give a demo of what you could expect. Plus it’s international menstrual hygiene day a worldwide celebration of menstruation because #menstruationmatters to everyone, everywhere.
Find out more about “No More Taboo” through their website: http://www.nomoretaboo.org
Check out “No More Taboo”’s period party event: https://www.facebook.com/events/577791345739510/
(Image: Rupi Kaur)