Femtech Fes! Vol. 14 "Introduction to Menstrual Cups: Discover Sustainable Period Products"

"Femtech Fes!", which had been on hiatus due to the opening of our brick-and-mortar store, held its 14th event on September 1st.

The theme this time was "Introduction to Menstrual Cups ~Learning about Sustainable Menstrual Products~".

We invited three guests to tell us all about menstrual cups, often called "the third menstrual product," covering everything from basic knowledge and history to environmental issues!

Minori Kitahara / Author, Representative of Love Piece Club
In 1996, she established the sex toy shop "LOVE PIECE CLUB" from a feminist perspective. She promotes cutting-edge sanitary goods, pleasure toys, and femtech. In 2019, she opened "MOOND by LPC," Japan's first femtech shop, at Daimaru Umeda. In 2019, she called for the Flower Demo to protest sexual violence.

Nami Kakizaki / Representative of My Cup Life
After nine years of backpacking and working as a diving instructor overseas, she returned to Japan two years ago. She has a strong interest in environmental issues and joined Patagonia Japan after returning to Japan. With eight years of experience using menstrual cups, she launched the My Cup Life project to recommend menstrual cups to all women in Japan.

Mona Neuhaus / Representative of "No Plastic Japan"
After moving to Japan, she became sensitive to the abundance of "disposables" around her and felt that each individual should make changes from where they can. In 2018, she established "No Plastic Japan," a stainless steel straw brand that serves as an alternative to plastic straws. She treats environmental protection as her own responsibility and proposes and disseminates environmental protection activities and related actions that everyone can easily incorporate into their daily lives.

At the event, Mona first taught us about environmental issues and sustainability. She said that the stainless steel straws from No Plastic Japan (Instagram:@noplasticjapan) are a catalyst for environmental activities and a reminder to strive for improvement every day. We learned that there is no single right answer to the topic of environmental issues, that there are times when plastic must be used, and that it is important to think for ourselves and incorporate solutions.

Nami from My Cup Life spoke about the history and benefits of menstrual cups.
Menstrual cups have actually existed since the 1930s. At that time, cups were made of hard latex rubber, and it wasn't until around 1987 that the materials and usability improved, leading to their widespread availability.

She also gave us detailed instructions on how to use them and how to choose the right size! She said that the risk of infection is not an issue if the usage time is strictly observed (be careful not to forget to remove it because it's so comfortable!).

Minori showed us an actual cup from around 1987, which Nami had mentioned. It was made of natural rubber and would return to nature if buried in the earth.
She also mentioned that menstrual cups were only recognized as sanitary products (medical devices) under Japanese law in 2017; before that, they could only be sold as miscellaneous goods. Now, it may finally be the stage where options are expanding.
She also introduced a manga that features menstrual cups, so if you're interested, please check it out!
"We Are Reproducing" Bunkasha Publishing

In addition to menstrual cups, we introduced environmentally friendly menstrual products. For example, UK's "Daye" is a brand that offers organic tampons with cannabis.
・In the UK, 200,000 tons of menstrual product waste are generated annually.
・97% of existing tampons are made of rayon and non-biodegradable plastic.
・Approximately half of women in the UK flush tampons down the toilet.
They are working to sell tampons in response to these current conditions. It's great to have such options for those who find menstrual cups too challenging.

At the end of the event, our guests offered advice on how to make sustainable living a personal commitment. With so many choices now available for menstrual products and daily necessities, why not start little by little with something you enjoy using and find comfortable?

For the latest event information, click here.
The next Femtech Fes! will be "Making Femtech Your Career."

Thank you for your continued support of fermata!