Is this future for Feminine Hygiene?
Published on:
Pads on a Roll is one of those inventions where people are quick to day ‘of course! So obvious now I see it…’
The most simple inventions are often the best and we think that Pads on a Roll will change the access to menstrual products.
Who are Pads on a Roll?
The company behind Pads on a Roll is US based Egal Pads Inc, founded by Tom Devlin and headed up by Penelope Finnie, CEO.
Penelope identified that girls are often caught by menstruation without period products away from home. Research shows that 1 in 5 girls have missed school due to lack of access to period products and that 62% of women have had to leave work to get period products.
Not only does the cubicle wall mounted dispenser offer convenience, it protects dignity. Hard to place a value on that…
Change
At long last, change is coming. Taboos around the menstruation cycle are being lifted and governments are slowly but surely supporting free access to period products.
Ollie visited Uganda in October 2023 and learned how fresh water provided by Made Blue charity is helping with menstruation in schools, witnessing first-hand a change in attitudes and culture around periods. Access to period products is often a fork in the road: the difference in the two roads results in very different lives.
Here in the UK, we have seen Scotland take the lead with fully funded period products in schools and all local authority buildings. Northern Ireland have just followed suit - see here.
Government funded schools in England already have a free period product budget (from 2020) but this isn't getting utilised effectively as the product doesn't get into the hands of students as they are located in the wrong place (not in the toilet).
Joyce Harper,Professor of Reproductive Science at UCL, has done research in schools and published articles about Pads on a Roll.
Global Women Connected article
Source already supplies many companies with personal pack size period products, to whom the companies provide free of charge for their staff. A stance originally taken by the global media and fintech companies, we are now seeing more and more companies standardise this offering.
UK Launch
Pads on a Roll is making ripples in the US already. Trials have been completed and the results are promising. An international airport has trialled Pads on a Roll and plans to install a dispenser in every cubicle in the airport.
Here in the UK, momentum is gathering. We are in talks with the UK Team and hope to be in a position to bring this product to the masses.
Our Source Toiletries and Personal Products Division has 30 years experience in feminine hygiene and we're excited to bring this innovation to our customers.
