So today’s episode is all about period pants.
"What are period pants?" I hear you ask!  Well, they do exactly what they say on the tin – they’re pants you wear when you’re on your period – they have an absorbent gusset (I'm totally still immature enough to snigger at the word 'gusset' #sorrynotsorry) and soak up and lock away the blood. So all you have to do is pull on your pants, no pads shifting around and giving you a wedgie, or any of that nonsense.  I think they’re a brilliant option for teenage girls starting their periods, as they’re less daunting than being faced with a menstrual cup, and they can also be used for bleeding after you’ve given birth or if you suffer from stress incontinence (listen in to hear about my mild trauma going trampolining with the kids..!)

I feel like we’ve done quite a bit of period talk in the iseason of the podcast – we’ve had Susie Hewson from Natracare talking about plastic in period products and wipes in Episode 31 and a fab chat with Celia, one of the co-founders of DAME, the first reusable tampon applicator (not as grim as it sounds!) in Episode 35.
But there’s still so much of a taboo around periods, when half of the population has/will have/or has had them, so I figure the more we talk about it the better. And given that in the UK 4.6 million single use tampon and pads are flushed away every single day, I think the more we talk about reusable options for our periods, the better too.

In this episode I’m chatting to Ruby Raut, founder of WUKA (which stands for Wake Up Kick Ass just in case you were wondering!) a UK brand of period pants – she tells us her powerful story behind starting the company, and some of the bigger issues that WUKA is helping to tackle with regards to period taboos and ocean plastic.

Listen in, and do let me know your thoughts. If you’ve got two minutes it would be AMAZING if you could show the podcast some love over on itunes by leaving a rating and a review, and of course, tell all your friends.

Enjoy!

Useful links

• WUKA
  - Website
  - Facebook
  - Instagram
  - Twitter
  - ​WUKA's works with Plastic Oceans
• Plastic Oceans UK
• A beginners guide to period pants (blog post)
• [031] - Plastic-free periods and wipes with Natracare (podcast)
• [035] - #BleedRedThinkGreen - The world's first reusable tampon applicator with DAME (podcast)
• A beginners guide to plastic-free and eco-friendly periods (blog post)
  

WASHING

• Wash at 40C or below
• Hand washing is ideal
• Simply rinse and then chuck in the wash with other dark coloured items
• DO NOT TUMBLE DRY
• Rubber rings
  
• Trampoline canvas

FAQs

• How many pairs would I need?
  If you bleed for the 'average' 4-5 day period, then you'll need around 7 pairs - 5 heavy, and 2 light
• How do I know when I need to change?
  Ordinarily the pants should feel dry, as the blood is locked away. once they reach 'peak absorbency' you'll start to notice them feeling a bit wet - this is the time to change
• What do I do when I'm out and about?                                                       Simply carry a 'wet bag' with you with a clean pair in, pop your dirty pants in there, and your clean ones on. Then when you get back rinse and wash the dirty ones 
• How long does a pair last?                                                                        The 'light flow' pants should last several years. The 'heavy flow' ones will start to lose absorbency after about 2 years, at which point you can relegate them to lighter flow days.

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