Latest news with #HereWeFlo
Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'I bled through my dress on a hot day - I will no longer feel embarrassed'
Four women share their awkward period experiences amid a new London-based campaign which aims to destigmatise period accidents and combat the shame around menstruation It's just a bit of blood – and yet, for many women, a leaking period is their worst nightmare. According to new research by the period care company Here We Flo , which surveyed over 2000 people, 80% of UK women say they'd feel ashamed if they leaked in public, while a further 82% say they've hidden a period product up their sleeve. But why is something as normal as a menstrual bleed so stigmatized? Interestingly, the same research has found that 83% want people to speak more openly about periods, both online and off. To kickstart the discussion, Here We Flo launched a series of provocative billboards at Black Friars and Hackney Road, London, on June 30. The campaign images show candid period moments, displaying visible tampon strings, bloodied underwear and period pads in full display. This also includes handing out free, non-toxic period products on July 2 between 12-1 pm and 5-6 pm outside the billboards at Black Friars and Hackney Road. Now, off the back of their campaign, four women of different ages and backgrounds have opened up about their stories of embarrassing period moments. Ash Knight (28) from Buckinghamshire had one of her first experiences with period shame on a hot day in London several years ago. "I was wearing a white dress — something light and comfortable for the heat,' she says. "My period wasn't due for another five days, so I didn't think twice about it." But when she was out walking far from home, she stood up from a bench and realised she had bled through her dress. She says she felt 'so exposed' as she didn't have anything to cover herself with. 'I quickly tied my bag around my waist and tried to act normal, but inside I was panicking. I kept thinking everyone must have noticed. I felt embarrassed and anxious, like I needed to disappear.' She was in the middle of a park, not near any shops or supplies. But, she says: 'I was too embarrassed to ask a stranger for a pad or tampon.' Now, looking back, she realises 'it was all in my own head.' She continues: 'That moment made me think about how periods are treated like something we should hide, even though half the population experience them.' Kathryn Barber (28) says she's racked up '14 years of awkward stories' around her period. She reveals: 'Once a stranger pointed out that my tampon string was showing while I was in a bikini – that was so embarrassing.' She also points out the difficulty of having to explain menstrual symptoms to men. 'Another time, I leaked all over my friend's bed during our first sleepover and just last week, I had to explain to a male colleague that I looked exhausted because I stayed up all night with period pains.' Emma Devries (40) from Hertfordshire was just 10 years old when she first started her period. She says: 'I felt very embarrassed because I was young and couldn't go swimming at certain times of the month, and it really hindered my confidence, especially as the products were thick and made you feel like you were wearing a nappy.' She adds: 'I had to wear school trousers, which were quite tight, and then I would get picked on with shameful words like "she's on the blob," [or] "she's wearing a nappy". It really made me feel rubbish about having my period and made me feel insecure.' Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! Sometimes, she would get leaks as she had a heavy period. She would have to clean herself up and hide any mess that happened, which 'just added to this embarrassing feeling and shame.' However, time has given her a chance to reflect. 'Now that I am older, I am starting to realise we should feel empowered as women to speak up about these things and moments we have throughout our lives and shouldn't feel shame as these are normal, and we should be kind to ourselves and educate.' Susan Allen-Augustin the co-founder of Here We Flo, shares her own embarrassing experience mid-flight from Boston to Florida. 'I was asleep on the plane when my period started unexpectedly,' she says. 'I woke up to realise I had leaked through my jeans and onto the airplane seat. On top of that, my cramps were so intense that as soon as we landed, I ended up being sick in one of the bins in the terminal. Definitely not my most shining moment!' She adds: 'I'm now able to look back and think it's kind of funny now, but it definitely wasn't at the time. That's why I think what we're building at Here We Flo is powerful. "We're using humour to open up conversations about these very real, very human experiences. Because the truth is, so many of us go through this, and yet it can feel very lonely and isolating at the time, and that's what this campaign is all about.' Her aim with the London billboards is to normalise what is an extremely normal experience. She says: 'I hope when people see it [the billboards], they understand that message. I know that even when they are bloody loaded, sick, minging, leaking, whatever, they are so bloody brilliant.'
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Period drama: Here We Flo pulls ‘plastic-free' pledge amid row over green claims
The sustainable period care brand Here We Flo, which launched in 2017 selling 'plant powered' pads and liners that are '100% free of nasties', is removing the terms 'plastic-free' and 'no synthetic fibres' from its packets. The company said it had been working on a 'packaging refresh' for the past year. It denied that it had made the changes because 'the sustainable material claims are misleading', but admitted it would no longer be using terms such as 'biodegradable', 'no synthetic fibres, 'plastic-free', 'eco-friendly' and 'planet-friendly' on its period products. The changes come amid an angry spat between Here We Flo and a rival brand, Mooncup, which has complained to regulators about Here We Flo's green claims. Mooncup cited a report by scientists at a leading university that allegedly found Here We Flo's pads and liners contained a combination of synthetic and semi-synthetic materials. In the legal letter sent by &Sisters, the parent company of Mooncup, to Here We Flo, and seen by the Guardian, it is alleged the company was falsely using terms such as 'natural', 'biodegradable' and 'plastic-free' in its advertising and on packaging. The allegations are based on findings from a 100-page lab report that it shared with Here We Flo and included in complaints sent to the Competition and Markets Authority and Advertising Standards Authority. Here We Flo denied that its practices consisted of unfair and misrepresentative advertising and labelling. It said the Mooncup report was 'fundamentally flawed and lacks rudimentary detail'. It added that it contained 'inaccuracies' and would have no standing legally. British women spend approaching £300m a year on period products, and the market is dominated by big brands such as Tampax and Always and supermarket own-labels. However demand for 'green' alternatives to pads and liners that typically contain plastic is growing due to campaigns highlighting the pollution they cause. With 3bn disposable products used every year, an estimated 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste ends up in UK landfill sites. Sustainable period products make up a small but growing part of the market, with total sales of about £6m. Here We Flo is the market leader, selling in major retailers including Boots and Tesco. Mooncup is best known for its reusable silicone menstrual cup. The report was commissioned by Mooncup as a benchmarking exercise. It claims that tests on Here We Flo pads found the non-biodegradable plastics sodium polyacrylate and polyethylene alongside bamboo viscose, a semi-synthetic material obtained through the chemical processing of raw bamboo. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Here We Flo was co-founded by Tara Chandra and Susan Allen, friends who met while studying at the London School of Economics. The challenger brand describes itself as 'proudly women-of-colour owned and sustainably built'. It has won over young women by talking frankly about periods and sex. Two years ago it secured B Corp status, a fair trade style label for companies. In a 12-page response to the Mooncup allegations, Here We Flo's lawyers described it as a calculated attempt to 'destroy' its market leadership. While it is enjoying stellar sales growth, it said its smaller rival was a 'male-run, declining business'. The 'optics of such a male attack on a female-owned company in relation to feminine hygiene' would not go unnoticed, it added. In turn Here We Flo alleged that Mooncup was misleading consumers with some of its green claims, such as the length of time its pads take to biodegrade, and should be investigated. Mooncup says that its biodegradability claims are verified by the leading standards and certification bodies.
