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I have been using reusable pads for a few years now and I think they are absolutely brilliant. Not only are they so much better for the planet but they are also so much more comfortable to wear and so much healthier for us, being free from chemicals and other things that we shouldn’t have against our bits!
These Trade to Aid reusable sanitary pads are great, coming in different absorbancies for the different days of your cycle and staying securely in your knickers. Each pack of Trade To Aid pads contains 6 pads: 2 light flow, 2 medium flow and 2 heavy flow plus a waterproof wet bag and is great to get you started. They are soft and comfortable, and unlike with disposable pads I have never leaked with them.
They are made from recycled and reusable materials and made from natural bamboo charcoal with no synthetic additives or nasty chemicals. For every pack bought, another pack is donated to someone in need. Not only that, Trade to Aid is a non-profit social business and so all of the profits made from sales goes to donating pads to people in need and funding menstrual education and hygiene programmes. How amazing is that!?
Choosing to use reusable pads helps to reduce waste and keep plastic out of landfill and away from oceans. Each year, disposable sanitary products add millions of tons of plastic to landfill and in each of our lifetimes, we can use between 5 and 15 thousand pads or tampons!
Instead of adding to all of that waste, it is worth considering switching to reusable pads that you can wash and reuse for several years. I know not everyone likes the thought of them, and I was definitely wary of the idea at first – we’re just not used to it are we – but they are so much better for us and the environment and completely hygienic and easy to use.
I usually just rinse them through at home as I go and then chuck them in the washing machine but you don’t even have to bother rinsing them first if you don’t want to or you can hand wash them if you prefer. It may not seem like it at first, but it’s a pretty simple switch to make.
As well as the environmental benefits, there are big benefits for our health too. Most disposable pad brands are over 90% plastic and contain synthetic additives, many of which can be damaging to us. A few days into my period I would always start to get sore, but with reusable pads that doesn’t happen at all – I think that shows that our bodies don’t like the chemicals in disposable pads and that they shouldn’t be against our delicate skin.
Period poverty affects over 500 million people worldwide with as many as 3 in 10 girls in the UK struggling to access the products they need. In Sub-Saharan Africa, UNESCO have reported that as many as 1 in 10 girls miss school during their periods. They do not have access to feminine hygiene products or receive menstrual education and by not having the right products they miss school or work or even leave school completely once they get their first period. This completely natural thing we go through should not stop people from gaining an education and consequently affecting their entire lives.
Trade to Aid is trying to fight period poverty by providing women and girls with a safe, sustainable option that can greatly impact someone’s life.
Where to buy: Trade to Aid £29.96 for a pack of six
Now you have the chance to win a pack of Trade to Aid reusable pads for yourself.
All you have to do to enter is complete the Rafflecopter widget below – good luck!
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I was sent a pack of Trade to Aid reusable sanitary pads for my gift guide but all words and opinions are my own. See my full disclosure policy here.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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