‘Not for fashion, for function’: Local group makes reusable pads to help women around the world

Before disposable pads and other mass-produced menstrual products became the norm several societies created women s hygiene products including reusable cloth pads The members of the Philadelphia-based Pan-African Sisterhood Soundness Initiative or P A S H I get together once a week to recreate these culturally key products A group of as countless as helpers gathers every Wednesday at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown to create the pads mentioned Tiye Carter a P A S H I board member It s like an assembly line she explained It s a whole assembly line of people that are doing certain portions and then it becomes one item And from there somebody else takes the pouches and they package them Supporters with different skills sit at tables and perform tasks for their station such as cutting sewing and snapping the pads together Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn Reusable pads aren t as common or culturally acceptable in the U S P A S H I s board president Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza acknowledged Instead the group s work is shared more widely with women in other parts of the world mainly focusing on Africa and the Caribbean Sullivan-Ongoza came up with the idea for the project after a trip to Africa in The schools abroad were saying that they really needed the menstrual products because the girls miss school otherwise she mentioned Upon returning from her trip Sullivan-Ongoza did several research and discovered that reusable pads could be a sustainable menstrual pool for women I saw that there has been a return to using reusable pads she announced Our ancestors used cloth pads This is nothing new but a return to it So it was kind of a movement of people who were more environmentally conscious It s economically better It s better for your physical condition And they don t have chemicals Sullivan-Ongoza is also a part of the Sankofa Artisans Guild a Philadelphia-based group focusing on all forms of artistic expression and supportive membership That year she appealed the group to make its annual locality arrangement project the production and distribution of reusable pads That initial order was shipped to Imani Mentoring Nursery and Lower Basic School in Gambia which is led by Francine Fulton herself a former Philadelphian who is a friend of the organization It has grown to much more We re at over or something shipments now and thousands of pads she noted This isn t just to Africa but also to the Caribbean South America and even here in the United States where we donate the pads Push pins on the map show various places in Africa where P A S H I has sent its reusable pads Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn The organization s impact both locally and abroad is also gaining recognition They were in recent days nominated for a SustainPHL award which are likened to the Emmys for sustainability A band effort The reusable pads are made using donated fabric which often feature bright and colorful patterns A volunteer organizes one of the sets of donated fabric to be cut into a pad shape Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn The pads contain a leak-proof fabric that makes them appropriate for containing menstruation and can be washed between wears Although the cotton fabric is donated by region members the organization s biggest expense is the waterproof fabric Sullivan-Ongoza noted This layer is essential as it allows for leak-proof sponsorship P A S H I purchases -yard layers of the fabric from Wazoodle Fabrics in Bensalem The leak-proof layer is necessary for the pads to work properly Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn Assistants are mostly female retirees although one dedicated male volunteer takes part the bulk weeks We have an average of supporters every Wednesday and sometimes we can get up to she mentioned We have non-sewing jobs but every job is essential to the completion of a pad from ironing it on to turning it inside-out or cutting out the pattern up to the people who sew it and to the last step which is putting the snaps on The snaps that make sure the pad stays together is one of the hardest parts to make Sullivan-Ongoza reported Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn Billy Penn attended a pad-making session to see the manufacturing and public in action The process has eight distinct roles board member Tiye Carter commented So you have someone who s doing the cutting then you have someone who s stitching around and putting the pattern together Then we use pool which is a fabric that is leakproof and so you have to make sure that s put in there And there s people that do that Contributors have different skill sets like cutting the shapes for the pads or sewing Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn After they re finished two pads are placed in a small colorful pouch for distribution A healthy sustainable option For plenty of girls around the world single disposable menstrual pads and underwear can be too expensive to purchase in bulk This can leave them with options that are unhealthy or unhygienic So a girl wears a pad multiple days just to school and takes it off after school and puts it back on the next day and this is something that s supposed to be one-time-only Sullivan-Ongoza declared And women will see a mattress out in the trash split the mattress open and collect the cotton inside because it s absorbent and they ll use that They ll find a few kind of way to contain it and use it as a pad Using menstrual products this way can increase the exposure of Toxic Shock Syndrome TSS or other infections The pads are sewn together with non-toxic elements which can make them much better than disposable pads Sullivan-Ongoza stated Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn In addition to the robustness benefits having reusable products that are intended to be used repeatedly can also help women feel empowered and reduce stigma about their cycle Why cloth instead of tampons or menstrual cups Because it s more universally accepted across cultures Cloth is the the majority acceptable for everywhere you go Sullivan-Ongoza mentioned Nobody turns down a cloth menstrual pad With menstrual cups and tampons you have to really do your vetting and background research to make sure the women are going to use them Since U S consumers have more of a focus on disposable products P A S H I doesn t distribute products locally very often For anyone curious though she announced reusable pads are more environmentally friendly and cost effective which can make them a good choice for anyone wanting to switch over Disposable pads have forever chemicals the tampons have forever chemicals she disclosed They re toxic and there is a big amount of waste that s accumulating from women disposing of these things here And organic products cost three times as much Every one that you waste here could ve kept a girl in school somewhere she added Every one that s getting wasted here could have stopped a girl from using newspaper or dirty mattress stuffing P A S H I s effort also hinges on partnerships between leaders and innovators in other countries who are able to provide insights and advice on what products and practices would work best for their communities So it s kind of two techniques we re teaching them but they re also teaching us and it keeps us motivated Sullivan-Ongoza stated Colorful pads are brought to countries all over the world Violet Comber-Wilen Billy Penn That collaboration also includes trainings on how to create reusable pads Once they begin to learn they are very enthusiastic about taking it back and turning it around and teaching the people back in Africa Carter noted What s next for P A S H I Sullivan-Ongoza disclosed the organization plans to continue making products with the tools it has available They re just beautiful when they re scrappy because people give us all kinds of fabric and we just put them together and they still look beautiful she mentioned You ve got all kinds of niche fabric but we inevitably say it s not the fashion it s the function The post Not for fashion for function Local group makes reusable pads to help women around the world appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY