Pads To The People

Long description

In the North America alone, 20 billion disposable sanitary pads and tampons are discarded each year to clog sewers and contribute to the plastics found in oceans.  They contain chemicals and fragrance.  The largest environmental impact of disposables is in the processing of the raw materials and low-density polyethylene that involves energy-intensive processing.   Menstrual supplies are packaging-heavy.  Cardboard, cellophane, and plastics all contribute to high emissions and offer no advantage the product itself.  

Women To Be is a 501c3 non-profit staffed by all volunteers.  We fabricate and distribute ‘kits’ of underwear and reusable, washable sanitary pads to girls in Nepal, Mexico, and the US Navajo Nation.  Many women and girls in these areas cannot afford or do not have access to disposable products. Kits last three years with nothing to throw away, in places where there is no place to throw it.  

In Nepal, girls use rags and leaves every month causing girls to skip school, drop out, and become child brides. Kits keep girls in school, enable self-determination, and restore dignity.  We also provide a sex education class to all recipients.

We train and hire local people to sew our products. Local village leaders, mostly men, are in support of this economic development.  As the topic of menstruation becomes more comfortable to discuss, the culture, often cruelly slanted against women, shifts. Boys are given the sex ed class and learn more respect for girls, later their wives.  

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