Eco-friendly firm ‘reboots’ period care

An eco-friendly firm is aiming to ‘reboot’ period care into the 21st Century with its biodegradable tampons, pads and use of artificial intelligence.

Freda, a monthly subscription service aimed at the ‘modern woman’, now offers those across the UK tampons made of organic cotton and pads made of wood pulp.

Both are free from any chemicals, the British company claims, and contain no dyes, fragrances, deodorants often found in big brand period products.

Women using the £6.99-a-month service can also access a clever algorithm that predicts their cycle, allowing them to sync their deliveries. 

Freda sends a portion of its profits to homeless women and refugees in the UK and to a charity based in Tanzania as it aims to tackle period poverty.

Freda, a monthly subscription service, now offers women across the UK tampons made of organic cotton and pads made of wood pulp delivered straight to their door

Affi Parvizi-Wayne created Freda after seeing refugees stuck at European border crossings and wondering how they managed their periods.

She told MailOnline: ‘From transparency to responsibility to access, the whole femcare space needs rebooting. And Freda is here to reboot it. 

‘We want to talk openly about the subject without patronising women or telling them how to live their periods. 

‘We want to embrace how we experience periods and start recognising them as a sign of a healthy woman.

‘From today, women now have better access to period care and an easier way to manage their periods.’

Ms Parvizi-Wayne blasted the pads and tampons currently available to women on the high street that are full of harmful chemicals.

She added: ‘I was struck by the lack of available information around what actually goes into pads and tampons.

Affi Parvizi-Wayne created Freda after seeing refugees stuck at European border crossings and wondering how they managed their periods

Affi Parvizi-Wayne created Freda after seeing refugees stuck at European border crossings and wondering how they managed their periods

‘Just as we pay attention to what goes into the foods that we eat and the products we put on our skin, we should also be able to make a more informed decision when it comes to the most intimate product we as women use. 

‘Do women realise that some high street pads and tampons are actually made of chemicals, fragrances, dyes, rayon, polyester, polyethylene, polyproprylene, chlorine and pesticides which are linked to health conditions? 

‘And would they continue buying these brands on auto-pilot if they did?’ 

The firm, based in London, claims its products are aimed at the modern, health and socially conscious woman.

Freda uses AI and knowledge from paid-for gynaecologists to predict the start date of each woman’s period.

Using this data, it prompts women to sync the delivery of their products to ensure they arrive a few days before their cycle begins. 

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE ECO-FRIENDLY FREDA PERIOD CARE FIRM?

ORGANIC MATERIALS 

Freda tampons and pads are made in Scandinavia and Central Europe where they have been produced for around 70 years.

The tampons are made from hypo-allergenic organic cotton – which it describes as the ‘most naturally absorbent material’.

Freda pads are also made with eco-friendly materials, including renewable wood pulp.

All of Freda’s products are then individually wrapped in bio-film before being sent straight to the customer’s door. 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & DELIVERIES

Freda uses AI and knowledge from paid-for gynaecologists to predict the start date of each woman’s period.

Using this data, it prompts women to sync the delivery of their products to ensure they arrive a few days before their cycle begins. 

The algorithm gets to know the woman’s period cycle over time, which can make even irregular periods more predictable.

DONATIONS 

A portion of every subscription to Freda goes towards worldwide initiatives tackling period poverty both in the UK and internationally.

Some of the cash it raises goes to ‘A Bloody Good Cause’, a UK initiative to provide pads to refugees and the homeless.

‘Bloody Good Period’, which provides asylum seekers with better access to period care, also receives a donation from Freda.

And ‘Killi Pads’, a micro enterprise in Tanzania which produces reusable cloth pads with locally sourced materials for local school girls, gets a small chunk.

The algorithm gets to know the woman’s period cycle over time, which can make even irregular periods more predictable.

Freda tampons and pads are made in Scandinavia and Central Europe where they have been produced for around 70 years.

The tampons are made from hypo-allergenic organic cotton – which it describes as the ‘most naturally absorbent material’.

HOW DOES THE PERIOD CARE FIRM FREDA’S ALGORITHM WORK?

Freda has developed an algorithm whereby subscribers are asked to note the first day of their period on a calendar in addition to other information like the length of cycle and the heaviness of flow.

The data is used to predict when menstruation will start and will make sure a Freda delivery arrives few days before. 

Over time, the data acquired from factors like the heaviness of the flow will allow the platform to choose the right absorbency pads or tampons for each period.  

Freda pads are also made with eco-friendly materials, including renewable wood pulp. They refuse to call them ‘sanitary’.

All of Freda’s products are then individually wrapped in bio-film before being sent straight to the customer’s door. 

The firm advocates responsibility around period care provision for women and girls worldwide regardless of their circumstances. 

Ms Parvizi-Wayne added: ‘Access to period care is a basic human and universal right, not a luxury.

‘The lives and education of hundreds of millions of girls worldwide are impeded by not having access to period essentials – and in 2018 that’s simply not okay.’ 

A portion of every subscription to Freda goes towards worldwide initiatives tackling period poverty both in the UK and internationally.

Some of the cash it raises goes to ‘A Bloody Good Cause’, a UK initiative to provide pads to refugees and the homeless.

‘Bloody Good Period’, which provides asylum seekers with better access to period care, also receives a donation from Freda.

And ‘Killi Pads’, a micro enterprise in Tanzania which produces reusable cloth pads with locally sourced materials for local school girls, gets a small chunk.

www.myfreda.com

UK CHILDREN ARE MISSING SCHOOL BECAUSE OF ‘PERIOD POVERTY’

Children in the UK are missing several days of school a month because they are too poor to buy sanitary products, according to a campaign group in December.

Freedom4Girls usually distributes period products in Kenya but realised it was not just women and girls in poor countries who could not afford sanitary products when they were contacted by a school in Leeds last year.

The school had a number of girls who were truanting when they had their period because they could not pay for products or they did not understand what was going on with their body. 

Freedom4Girls was joined in a protest at Downing Street by Free Periods, a group campaigning for tampons and pads to be provided free in schools for children on free school meals.

Free Periods argues the cost of doing this is relatively low, about £4.78 million per year, compared to the £102 billion education budget in 2016-17. 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk