PROVIDING A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO MENSTRUATION

PAD-UP CREATIONS LIMITED is creating a world in which every woman and girl child can manage her menstruation in a hygiene way, wherever she is, in privacy, safety and dignity!!!!!

With much curiosity and attention….. Nollywood celebrities impressed at the existing innovation and development while trying to find out more about Africa’s number one leading washable and reusable 100% chemical free sanitary pads from PAD-UP CREATIONS LIMITED.

In some developed countries, women in the working class can spend independently on menstruation in their lifetime compare to the women living in rural communities where they cost will be very expensive and not affordable by the poor women who have to struggle to afford period products. People in vulnerable situations are affected most by period poverty, including people already facing homelessness, low income, and systemic exclusion for being members of marginalized groups. Folks in vulnerable situations may need to sacrifice meager food budgets or cope with negative health issues due to a lack of accessible period products and sanitary facilities.

Certain physical health risks is on the increasing edge when safe sanitation facilities, such as toilets and hand washing areas, are difficult to access or non-existent leading to another sets of complication most likely to be faced by the poor communities. These facilities are still too rare to access across the globe where billions of women and girls do not have access to safe sanitation services lacking basic amenities such as toilets, privacy, hand washing facilities and so on. Women and girls who menstruate may be forced to use inadequate materials or self made options for their period or use period products for a prolonged time beyond the expected life span of a product which is at the increasing chance of reproductive and urinary tract infections among other harmful outcomes or diseases that these women and girls are prone to contacting.

For those who can afford it, switching to multi-use alternatives seems an easy environmental choice, as they generate much less waste in the environment reducing the rates of waste to be burnt. Such as menstrual cups and washable pads which can be used for couple of years, but sustainability is not achieved yet given that these reusable products cannot be properly managed or kept as they have to be washed properly well with water after each use and unfortunately these women and girls still lack access to water . Factors like water temperature, detergent used, and drying method can influence the environmental impact of reusable products, like underwear and reusable pads so there is very important and urgent need to educate women, girls and those who menstruate about how to use and care for themselves and their environment.

For those who can afford it, switching to multi-use alternatives seems an easy environmental choice, when they can get their hands easily on the products, which are more readily available and cheaper to buy. Reusable alternative might turn out to be cheaper, but many people cannot stump up that amount of cash in one go. Access to affordable and sustainable menstrual hygiene products (e.g. menstrual cloths, reusable pads, disposable pads, menstrual cups and tampons) is key to improving menstrual health and hygiene. Yet only a fraction of women and girls in developing countries use sanitary products during menstruation. Individuals use specific menstrual hygiene products based on their availability which is production, knowledge, awareness, income, affordability and region that is a comfortable level of use from the cultural context.

Affordability is a strong barrier to access menstrual products, particularly for poor women in rural areas where the menstruating women and girls cannot afford menstrual products especially women with low-income who finds it difficult to afford menstrual hygiene products such as tampons or pads during the periods. Access to affordable and sustainable menstrual products is key to improving menstrual health and hygiene, but millions of women around the world can’t afford these products. A holistic approach one that combines education with infrastructure, products, and efforts to tackle the societal taboos and stigma surrounding the issue is most successful in achieving good menstrual health hygiene and improving development outcomes for women and adolescent girls.

Social entrepreneurs around the world are creating disruptive new solutions and catalyzing change in the sector to provide affordable menstrual products and reproductive health information to women and girls. The challenges menstruating girls and women face is often less tangible than simply the availability of infrastructure, and is rooted in social norms and beliefs. In many cultures, menstruating women are considered impure and are systematically excluded from participating in every-day activities, such as education, employment, and cultural and religious practices. Moreover, the taboos and stigmas attached to menstruation lead to an overall culture of silence around the topic, resulting in limited information on menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Such misinformation can have ramifications on the health and dignity of girls and women and how it can be disregarded of menstrual hygiene needs serves to the lower status of women and girls.

Menstruation is stigmatized all over the world.

Menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women. Roughly half of the female population are around the global population of reproductive age. Most women menstruate each month for about three to seven days but yet as normal as it seems to be, menstruation is stigmatized around the world. A lack of information about menstruation leads to damaging misconceptions and discrimination, and can cause girls to miss out on normal childhood experiences and activities. Stigma, taboos and myths prevent adolescent girls and boys from the opportunity to learn about menstruation and develop healthy habit. It is very possible to envision a world where every girl can learn, play, and safeguard her own health without experiencing stress, shame, or unnecessary barriers to information or supplies during menstruation irrespective of where and when they found themselves which is a fundamental needs of all adolescent girls.

Things you didn’t know about menstruation.

On average a woman menstruates for about 7 years during their lifetime. The first period can be met with either celebration, fear or concern. For every girl, this signifies an important transition into womanhood which is a time when they would benefit from the support of family and friends .Many girls do not have complete and accurate understanding of menstruation as a normal biological process. Educating girls before their first period by parents or guardian is very and highly important as that will assist in positively building their confidence, contributes to social solidarity and encourages healthy habits. Such information should be provided at home and at school. Poor menstrual hygiene can pose physical health risks and has been linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections.

Many girls and women have limited options for affordable menstrual materials. Providing access to private facilities with water and safer low-cost menstrual materials could reduce urogenital diseases. Girls and women with disabilities and special needs face additional challenges with menstrual hygiene and are affected disproportionately with lack of access to toilets with water and materials to managing their period regularly .Many women and girls do not have access to materials to manage their menstruation especially in times of emergencies, natural disasters and conflicts and so on and so forth.

Many women who use both cloth and pad usually consider cloth to be unhygienic. At the root of this belief are the myths and taboos that limit women’s ability to wash and dry cloth in a hygienic way. Many women do not have access to privacy and washing facilities thereby choose not to dry cloth under open sunlight for the humiliation of being seen by male members of the family and outsiders. Women tend to dry their menstrual cloth indoors, concealed in closets and hidden under mattresses. Such practices render the cloth unhygienic and contribute to the belief that cloth is inferior to pad. But we also found unhygienic practices among the pad users as it is was common practice to use the same pad for the whole day or to use it on two consecutive days if the flow was light.

General culture of silence around periods meant that women did not feel comfortable seeking information from better informed people (health workers, teachers) and ended up believing what they are told by women in the family and friends. Although it was common for women to have had some schooling and for younger girls to have studied in college with some attending university, we found that formal education made little difference to beliefs about menstrual products. Majority of the women in our society today threw their pads out with routine waste and it is also common to see soiled pads floating in open streams and gutters next to dwellings where pads are found discarded and soiled in the waterways close to their homes as it was the most convenient way of disposing it.

What is Sustainable Menstruation?

What’s this movement about?

Sustainable menstruation refers to the use of alternative products during one’s menstrual cycle for the benefit of the body and earth. Sustainable menstruation is being mindful of the negative effects of disposable sanitary products tends to have on our environment in efforts to reduce the plastic waste ending up in our oceans or landfills

This movement also focuses on the access to sustainable menstruation products all people who menstruate should have. Many who have a difficult time purchasing healthy menstrual products look at sustainable menstrual products as a healthier and cheaper product to use.

What’s so wrong with disposable products?

Plastic Menstrual products generate more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. Most menstrual hygiene products are made up of plastic and are non-biodegradable, taking approximately 500 to 800 years to decompose.Menstrual hygiene products such as pads and tampons usually contain dangerous chemicals, like pesticide residues, bleach, and phthalates that cause harm to the body.

Here’s what you can do about it:

To have a more eco-friendly period with your menstrual kits, Use what feels right for your unique body which is no other than washable and reusable products.

For now, here is your best options to reduce your sanitary waste!

These and more are some of the sustainable menstrual products to pick from PAD-UP WASHABLE AND REUSABLE SANITARY PADS WHICH ARE 100% CHEMICAL FREE these sanitary pads are super thin and flexible, can absorb more than a regular disposable pad, it is breathable and it has minimum of one year and maximum use of three years. PAD-UP MENSTRUAL KITS are safe and easy to use, wash, rinse and sun dry properly.

PAD-UP MENSTRUAL KIT

PAD-UP MENSTRUAL KIT are affordable and accessible menstrual kit underwear that hold three to five and even more teaspoons of menstrual blood. These underwear are absorbent and washable.

Plastic-Free Applicators

If you want to start by cutting out plastic applicators, this is your best bet! These work just exactly the way you want your menstrual kit to be and it is chemical free without plastic.

Money saved with reusable

A person who menstruates spends an average of $12,800 on menstrual care products and disposes of over 10,000 products into landfills during their lifetime. You can save money and the environment just by switching to PAD-UP MENSTRUAL KIT- WASHABLE AND REUSABLE WITH 100% CHEMICAL FREE reusable menstrual care products!

PAD-UP CREATIONS LIMITED is creating a world in which every woman and girl can manage her menstruation in a hygienic way – wherever she is – in privacy, safety and with dignity!

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