Knowledge is power

The brands, products and services featured on femidi came to be because of unignorable facts, issues and circumstances. We wanted to highlight the facts and research behind the brands, to showcase what's going on in women's health and in the world.

Periods & Menstrual Hygiene

Environment: Tampons, pads and panty liners along with their packaging and individual wrapping generate more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, and they all contain plastic – in fact, pads are around 90% plastic! The average user throws away an astonishing 125 to 150kg of tampons, pads and applicators in their lifetime. In the UK, two billion period products are flushed down the toilet a year—which is responsible for 75% of all cases of blocked drains. It results in removal costs of £14 billion each year. Along with cotton buds, tampons, applicators and panty liners make up 7.3% of items flushed down the toilet in the UK. A year’s worth of disposable period products leave a carbon footprint of5.3 kg CO2 equivalents.

Period Poverty: Period poverty affects women and girls all over the world. Access to sanitary products, safe, hygienic spaces in which to use them, and the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma, is essential for anyone who menstruates. But for many, this is not a reality. This is not just a potential health risk - it can also mean women and girls' education, well-being, and sometimes entire lives are affected.

What's in your tampon? 

• Chlorine: Natural cotton isn't perfectly white, so some tampons are bleached with chlorine to achieve that pearly white look. Bleaching is the technical term for fibre purification and is also required to eliminate impurities and clean the fibres. But chlorine can break down to dioxin – one of the most persistent and toxic chemicals, according to a 2018 report by the Environment Committee.

• Pesticides As most tampons are made from non-organic cotton, they will have likely been sprayed with pesticides. Last year, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), found traces of banned pesticides, including lindane and quintozene, in feminine hygiene products.

• Glues: The string, used to remove the tampon, is sometimes attached to the tampon using adhesives. In some braided designs, a polyester or polypropylene braid may be used.

Sex & Pleasure

The disparity in satisfaction that people with vulvas experience in the bedroom, versus their cis male counterparts. It’s a real problem! Sex education often focuses on the female reproductive anatomy, leaving out the pleasure part.

Pregnancy & Fertility

One in eight women and one in 10 men in the U.K. have experienced infertility, struggling to get pregnant for at least a year, and almost half do not seek help for the problem. Is infertility a common problem? Yes. About 10 percent of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Motherhood

The extent to which young mothers are left feeling lonely and isolated after having a baby was revealed today (2 May) by the Co-op and the British Red Cross. New research[1] shows that a staggering 82 per cent per cent of mums under 30 feel lonely some of the time while more than four in 10 (43 per cent) are lonely often or always. The survey shows a sense of isolation is felt most acutely by younger mothers. Almost half (49 per cent) of mothers aged between 18 and 25 are often or always lonely compared with 37 per cent who are aged between 26 and 30. This new research also shows that more than 80 per cent of mums under 30 say they meet their friends less often after having their child. The Peanut app aims to make sure no one has to navigate womanhood alone, especially the hard parts. The app gives you access to a social network to connect with other women across fertility and motherhood. It aims to make it easy to meet, chat and learn from like-minded women.

Menopause

Women's Health