This all-female Cork company wants you to have the most eco-friendly period possible

Most commercial period pads are made from non-recyclable plastic that can damage the planet. We talk to a founder member of a new, all-female west Cork company producing eco-friendly alternatives 

Picture: iStock 

Period products contain a surprising amount of plastic. According to a study carried out by Natracare in 2018, commercial brands of period pads consist of up to 90% plastic. This is the equivalent of four plastic shopping bags per pad.

While tampons are mostly made from cotton, they are often coated in a viscose film. The string is usually made from plastic and so is the applicator.

When you consider that the average woman uses more than 11,000 pads or tampons in her lifetime, this produces a significant amount of plastic waste.

This waste is non-recyclable. As a result, most pads and tampons end up in landfills, in incinerators, or if they are flushed down the toilet, in the sea. A report from the EU in 2018 found that menstrual products were the fifth most common item to be washed up on European beaches.

Fiona Parfrey, Lauren Duggan and Áine Kilkenny are three friends in their early 30s. They have set up Riley, a West Cork-based period eco-friendly period subscription service, to do something about this problem.

“Lauren and I are both from Cork city and we’ve been friends since school,” says Parfrey. “Lauren used to spend her childhood summers in West Cork where she got to know Áine, and I became friends with Áine through her.”

All three went on to work in business as adults - Duggan with a technology start-up in London, Kilkenny with Salesforce, and Parfrey in a variety of roles in e-commerce before she set up her own business, SunDrift, which produced eco-friendly hiking, swimming, and camping items.

Their long-term plan was to work on a joint project. “We have a similar work ethic and values,” says Parfrey. “We were just waiting for the right idea to come along.”

That idea came along last January. “We were catching up over a bottle of wine when one of us got our period,” says Parfrey. “We had no period products and rushed to the shop to get them. It got us thinking: women get periods every month but how often do we get caught out like this? Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to think about them at all, if they were delivered through the door every month?”

They started looking into the possibility of launching a subscription service.

“That’s when we realised how much plastic, bleach, and pesticides there are in commercial period products,” says Parfrey.

“We considered ourselves health-conscious women, but we’d been inserting these products into our bodies. We also felt guilty that as women having periods, we’d been contributing to the world’s plastic problem. Surely there was a better way that was good for our bodies, not damaging to the environment, and convenient for busy working women?”

Starting a new company

They spent their evenings and weekends for the next four months researching that better way and on April 27, they launched Riley.

“I sold my business to invest in this one,” says Parfrey. “Áine quit her job and moved home to West Cork. Lauren sold her apartment in London and moved back home. We’re all now working full time on Riley.”

Some might say that starting a new business in a pandemic is a foolhardy decision, but not Parfrey. “It hasn’t been easy but we’re resilient and adaptable, like everyone else has had to be,” she says. “The right idea came along. We were all in a position to be able to invest time and money in it, and technology meant that we could work together, but remotely.”

Their business model is based on a website, www.weareriley.com, where women can pick from a variety of boxes to suit their period needs. These are then delivered to them on a monthly or quarterly basis.

GREEN TEAM: Lauren Duggan, Áine Kilkenny and Fiona Parfrey are founders of Riley, a subscription service delivering ‘environmenstrual’ products.

The boxes contain only environmentally-friendly products, all made in the EU from 100% organic certified cotton with no added chemicals or toxins. “They are composable even after use,” says Parfrey. “The tampon applicators are made from sustainable sugar cane, and the majority of our packaging is compostable. We’re working on making it all composable in the next few months.”

Moving away from plastic to products that cause no harm to the environment does however come at a cost. Riley’s subscription boxes start from €6.90 a month for 16 tampons or €9.90 for 12 pads. The equivalent commercial products can be purchased for as little as €2.50.

“Our products are more expensive to manufacture, but they’re better for our bodies and the planet,” explains Parfrey. “Also, when you break it down, they may not be that much more expensive. A woman often uses a variety of products during her period, maybe heavy-duty tampons at the beginning, lighter ones later on, and even a pad at night-time. We offer mixed boxes of products (from €8.80) so that women don’t have to buy them all every month.”

The friends are also aware that subscription services could be viewed as having a bigger eco-footprint than selling through supermarkets. “We wouldn’t rule out having Riley products on supermarket shelves someday,” says Parfrey. “But for now, we use An Post to deliver here in Ireland and they are aiming to be carbon neutral by 2022. We also allow customers to add €2 at checkout which goes to Carbon Click, a community of businesses that offset emissions through initiatives such as planting trees. We’re working to reduce our environmental impact all the time.”

Parfrey and her friends believe that people are increasingly becoming more conscious of how their lives impact on the environment. “We’re drinking from keep cups, cutting down on food waste, and cycling to work,” she says. “But we’re doing very little in the bathroom. We want to change that through our work with Riley.”

Lauren Duggan, Fiona Pafrey and Aine Kilkenny. founders of Riley. 

We are the highest producers of plastic in Europe

Lyndsey O’Connell is the communications director of Voice Ireland, a member-based environmental charity that promotes the wise use of natural resources for a sustainable future. She thinks people are only beginning to realise how much plastic we use and waste here in Ireland. According to research released by Eurostat in 2018, Ireland produces the highest amount of plastic waste per person in the EU.

“We produce 22% more plastic waste than the EU average and recycle less than one third of that,” she says. “People have no idea how much plastic there is in everything. We’re flushing plastic down the loo as tampons without even realising it.”

Voice supports initiatives that cut down on plastic production. “We’re supportive of investing in recycling facilities, but we’d prefer to see less plastic produced in the first place,” she says.

“In the case of period products, that means organic cotton tampons and pads, reusable products such as period pants, and menstrual cups. There are a plethora of products out there, and they should be stocked in supermarkets as standard.”

Education and access to information are factors too. “Are reusable menstrual products mentioned when periods are discussed at school,” she asks. “Or are young girls merely told about tampons and pads? Commercial companies should also have to list the contents of their products on their packaging. I think people would be shocked to learn how much plastic they contain.”

She would even go so far as to make reusable products freely available in public buildings. “If we expect toilet paper to be provided, why not free menstrual products with reusable options as standard,” she asks. “Countries like Scotland do it.”

The Green Party shares her position. “Menstrual products are an essential part of women’s lives and women bear the brunt of the cost associated with them,” says Senator Pauline O’Reilly. “I believe numerous environmentally-friendly options should be provided free of charge by the State because my experience is that women want to use the best products they can afford. It’s time to ensure that all women and girls can get these products for free.”

While the campaign for free eco-friendly menstrual products continues, the women behind Riley are growing their new business. “We’ve had a great response so far, despite or maybe even because of Covid,” says Parfrey. “Irish people are eager to support small, local businesses and we’re on track to have covered 5,000-period cycles by the end of the year.”

They are also building a list of corporate clients. Just last month, Vodafone Ireland announced that it would provide free Riley products to all its employees at its head office in Dublin and in all its retail stores. And from October 12, its products will be installed in 60 dispensers across all MTU campuses in Cork and Kerry.

“It all helps us to get our message out there,” says Parfrey. “Period products need to be easily and conveniently available, good for women’s bodies, and kind to the environment.”

Going with the flow

Deciding on a period product once meant a simple choice between pads and tampons. These days, there are far more options, and they are much more environmentally-friendly.

1. Riley is just one company offering organic cotton tampons and period pads made from material such as sustainable bamboo. These products are all biodegradable, as well as being made without any plastic, perfume, or chlorine. Once the packaging and any applicators are made from sustainable materials and are compostable, they guarantee that your period won’t have a negative impact on the environment. These retail from €3.30 for a pack of 12 pads and from €3.70 for a box of 20 tampons.

2. Reusable period pads are another option. Made from organic cotton, these come in a variety of colours, shapes, and sizes and are usually secured to underwear using snappers. There’s a removable insert that absorbs the blood. This can be replaced as required and tossed into the washing machine for easy cleaning. Instead of being thrown away after one use, these can be used again and again for up to five years. There are lots of different brands out there such as Dame and Cheeky Wipes and they retail from approximately €18 for three pads.

3. Period-proof underwear is an increasingly popular alternative. They may once have been bulky but now come in sleek and seamless versions that feel secure and absorbent while being ultra-discreet. It’s possible to wear these pants for up to 24 hours, just as you would with your regular underwear. However, this does depend on the intensity of blood flow. Like reusable period pads, they can be bunged in the wash once you’re done with them and they’ll be good to go for next time. Brands such as Thinx and Modi Bodi are popular and even the likes of Penneys and Marks & Spencer are getting in on the act, selling pants from approximately €17.

4. There are lots of different menstrual cups now available on the market, ranging from the original Mooncup to relative newcomers like Lunette and OrganiCup. These are small funnel-shaped containers made from flexible medical-grade silicone. They fit inside the vagina where they collect menstrual fluid until you break the suction seal and pour the fluid down the toilet. Once they are fitted correctly – and this does require a little practice – they can even be worn at night-time, as they can hold the equivalent of up to four tampons’ worth of menstrual fluid. They may be the most environmentally conscious option of all, as they can be reused for up to ten years or more. Prices start from €17.