Quebec’s supply of reusable menstrual products is growing, driven by new, motivated entrepreneurs. Municipal subsidies come to give them a helping hand, but a few obstacles still slow down their explosion.
It was last October that Marielle La Rue officially launched its menstrual discs made in Canada and approved by Health Canada. Its product, made of silicone, differs a little from menstrual cups, the best known of which is undoubtedly the DivaCup.
“The cup holds by suction on the vaginal walls. The weaker the muscles, the greater the need for a large model. This is not the case for the disk. The disc sits on our bone [près du col de l’utérus] », explains the founder of Fornix, the Verdun-based company which is named after the part of the female anatomy where its product is placed. “You feel like you’re not wearing anything,” assures M.me La Rue, on the eve of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, which takes place on May 28.
The Fornix disc, which measures 62 millimeters in diameter, is flattened in appearance and has a tab or small handle. It can be emptied in the morning and evening.
The entrepreneur’s motivations are above all environmental, since she was disturbed by the use of reusable diapers for her first baby. The one who has just had a second child considers that her disc can be used for 10 years and thus prevent the waste of up to 2,400 tampons or sanitary napkins.
Katherina Piché has set her sights on menstrual underwear. “When I started using period panties, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I no longer needed to buy my protections every month and change them throughout the day,” says the woman who worked for ten years in the fashion industry.
Unemployed during the pandemic, she turned her new find into a business opportunity. The founder of the company Soje designs panties that are both comfortable and elegant, although they can absorb blood. They are made in Quebec with fabrics from Canada, the United States and China. Mme Piché has also recently started offering safe swimwear for moderate flow.
Change habits
As their products are still little known and little established in habits, the two entrepreneurs must do awareness-raising work to make them known and explain them. “I believe 100% in reusable products, but people are not all there yet. In their minds, it’s a bit disgusting, because it’s more manipulation,” says M.me Piche.
The initial investment can also be daunting. A Fornix retails for $54, while the cheapest Soje panties are $48. However, it is possible to benefit from a substantial discount. More and more municipalities are offering subsidies, often between 50% and 75% of the purchase price, for sustainable menstrual products. Quebec, Longueuil and Laval have notably implemented such programs over the past year. In Montreal, the conditions of these subsidies vary depending on the boroughs.
Mme La Rue notes that many of its customers take advantage of it. “We often talk about it. It encourages them to try something new, and municipalities save money on waste management,” says the founder of Fornix.
When I started using period panties, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I no longer needed to buy my protections every month and change them throughout the day.
For menstrual fairness
Clara Bolster-Foucault is co-director of the Montreal organization Dignity Monthly, which works to increase access to menstrual products — disposable and reusable — through distribution and education. She says she greatly appreciates this municipal support, but she believes it could be improved. “The municipalities don’t do a lot of promotion and it’s not very well known. Budgets are also limited, she reports. Many people in precarious situations also do not have the capacity to make the large initial down payment or complete the paperwork to obtain reimbursement. »
This doctoral student in epidemiology would like subsidies to be channeled directly to companies so that the cost of sustainable menstrual products is lower at the source.
She also welcomes the proliferation and diversification of menstrual products on the market, which is far from being limited to Fornix and Soje. “The more sizes, shapes and types of products there are, the better the chance of finding ones that suit your body,” she says, noting that her organization receives donations from several companies.
Sustainable products are an interesting economical and ecological solution, she believes. However, the people concerned must be able to know how they work and be comfortable wearing and using them. Hence the importance of talking about it and fighting the stigma still surrounding menstruation.