FFP 135 | Are Your Menstrual Products Toxic? | The Truth About Conventional Pads&Tampons | Managing Menstruation in Low Resource Settings | Molly Hayward - a podcast by Lisa | Fertility Friday

from 2017-05-03T04:00:08

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Molly is the visionary female founder of Cora. If you haven’t heard of Cora tampons before, Cora is a brand committed to providing healthy, modern menstrual products (i.e. tampons) in a completely new way.

After travelling the world through many developing nations Molly saw how menstruation negatively affects girls and women living in low resource settings. Many of these girls are unable to afford menstrual products and have to resort to using old rags, newspaper, tree bark, and even pieces of old mattresses to manage their monthly bleeds. As you can imagine, using unhygienic methods such as these can cause infections, reproductive health problems, not to mention leaking. When Molly later learned that many of the menstrual products widely sold in North America use harmful chemicals and materials (i.e. pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals) that can cause endocrine disruption, cancer and other illnesses she decided to take matters into her own hands. Molly joined forces with her business partner Morgen and founded Cora.

Not only are Cora tampons made from premium organic cotton (and free from harmful pesticides & synthetic materials), but Cora’s is on a mission to empower girls in developing nations. For every product sold, Cora provides sustainable menstrual products to girls in low resource settings.

In today's episode, we expose the dangers of using conventional menstrual products, and we also have a much-needed discussion of the challenges that girls and women face in low resource settings. What it means for women and girls when they don't have access to the menstrual products they need to manage their periods.

Topics discussed in today's episode

  • Why women in low resource settings are managing their periods with old clothes, tree bark and pieces of old mattresses
  • The reality for women and girls in low resource settings who are not able to attend school and work because of their periods
  • What toxic chemicals are lurking in your menstrual products
  • The link between synthetic materials like rayon and polyester and Toxic Shock Syndrome
  • The health benefits of using 100% organic cotton tampons compared to the regular tampons you buy at the store
  • Why women and girls in low resource settings lack access to menstrual products and what they use instead
  • How the lack of access to menstrual products prevents girls from attending school during their period in many countries worldwide.
  • Why menstrual products should be provided free of charge besides every toilet just like toilet paper
  • How Cora has integrated the fundamental issue of access to menstrual products their company's mission
  • How your purchase of Cora Tampons benefits girls in India and Kenya
  • The connection between conventional menstrual products and health issues like painful periods, yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis.
  • The inspiration behind the design of Cora Tampons and accessories (i.e. say no to the obnoxious pink and purple packaging characteristic of conventional menstrual products)
  • Why the design savvy carrying case and other accessories are not about hiding your period or being ashamed of it but instead are about embracing it and creating a positive experience of menstruation
  • Why women who buy Cora tampons don't pay the tampon tax

Connect with Molly

You can connect with Molly on the Cora Website, on Facebook, and Twitter

Resources mentioned

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This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health.  For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

 

Further episodes of Fertility Friday Radio | Fertility Awareness for Pregnancy and Hormone-free birth control

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