Every year, we measure our social and environmental impact. This year, our big milestone was to reach a distribution of✨ 1 MILLION CLOTH PADS ✨ since we began in 2010!! 

How did we do this? They've all been distributed:

• To our customers in India and in 25 countries around the world, 

• Through our Pads for Sisters programme that distributes discounted pads to women from low-income backgrounds in India and,

• Free pads to adolescent girls from low-income backgrounds in India through our Pad for Pad programme.

We want to thank all our domestic and international retailers, partners, and ambassadors for helping us achieve this incredible milestone!  🙏

Inspired by the colours of nature, we are excited to share this Special Edition range of cloth pads available from panty liners to night pads.   Henna is a plant widely used for body art, to dye skin, hair and fingernails, and is also used to dye fabric.

The Henna block printed fabric used for these pads is made by skilled artisans from Andhra Pradesh (India) through a labour intensive and precise process involving many stages of preparations.

The art of block printing and use of natural dyes is diminishing at a fast pace. By using this fabric we wish -in our small way- to keep this beautiful work alive and to support the livelihood of the people  who earn their living from this endangered craftsmanship

At Eco Femme, we value eco sisterhood and believe that nurturing a healthy workspace comes from  paying attention to and caring for who we are intrinsically. Monthly team retreats have thus become much looked forward to events as they truly nourish us individually and as a team.

In April, we devoted a whole day to deepening our inquiry into our personal experience of embodiment and explored the connection between how cultural narratives impact this experience.

As catalysts for this inquiry, we watched the film "Lipstick under my burkha" and reflected on what it triggered inside. We then had a full group sharing on the question "Where am I stuck in life/what is holding me back and where would I like to find more ease in life?".

In spite of having such a culturally diverse team (we are from 7 different countries) we were very touched by the universality of these themes and the power that women who courageously and authentically share their experience can have to elicit insight and deepen connection among the group. 

With a vision to support rural communities to take control of their lives, govern themselves, and live in social, gender, and ecological harmony while maintaining a sustainable lifestyle, Timbaktu Collective have come forth with a number of initiatives that have positively impacted the lives of people in Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh, India) and its surroundings for over three decades. When Mary Vattamattom, one of the founders, and her daughter, Molly, visited Eco Femme in March 2022 and expressed their interest to introduce sustainable menstruation in their community, we jumped right into the opportunity of collaboration and mutual learning. Timbaktu not only shares the spirit of sustainability with us, but has also paved a way for empowering women through holistic approaches in livelihood.  

In April, Lakshmy visited their campus in Andhara Pradesh and offered a Training of Trainers in how to facilitate menstrual heath education  sessions. About 20 women - staff and Self Help Group leaders participated in the intense 2 day programme.  It culminated in the trainee participants demonstrating their learnings during a session that they delivered to their women SHG members.  The training and the practice sessions was engaging and was enjoyed by all and participants who are now eager to take the project forward and spread the message of sustainable menstruation in their communities.

We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Timbaktu Collective as the collaboration takes shape in the month ahead.