Women have an abundance of products to choose from when it comes to menstrual hygiene management, with a majority being disposable. But now, women may be able to stop or reduce their use of products like pads, tampons and pantyliners thanks to a new, reusable “period underwear” available on the market called Thinx.
 
Co-founded by Miki Agrawal, CEO of the company, Thinx underwear can absorb up to 5 teaspoons of liquid, acting as an eco-friendly alternative to disposable feminine hygiene products.
 
The first a-ha moment for the concept came after Agrawal’s twin sister experienced yet another period leak, like millions and millions of menstruating women do each month. “We thought, ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if we made a pair of underwear that never leaked and never stained, and that actually supported women, that works for women during the time you need it the most?’” Agrawal explains.
 
The next a-ha moment came during a trip to South Africa in 2010; five years after the sisters first conceived the notion of the underwear. While traveling in the outskirts of Johannesburg, Agrawal met a group of girls and asked one particular girl why she wasn’t in school. “She said to me, ‘It’s my week of shame,’” she recalls. “I found out she, along with over 100 million girls, are missing a week of school when they have their periods, and using unimaginable things like leaves, mud, dirty bags, plastic bags, whatever they can find. It’s a huge problem.”
 
In 2011, Agrawal and her sister began working on a pair of underwear that would use patented technology to absorb liquid, while leaving the user feeling dry. The result was a construction with four layers in the crotch area: a moisture-wicking layer, an anti-microbial layer, an absorbent layer, and a leak-resistant layer. The underwear functions as a complement to tampons or menstrual cups during the heaviest days of a woman’s period, but can also be worn on their own during medium to light flow days—eliminating the need for pantyliners or light tampons and pads.
 
After launching a Kickstarter campaign in February 2013 to raise funds for the product, Thinx officially debuted in January 2014.
 
Thinx are available in three styles which each hold a specific amount of liquid—the Hiphugger is for heavy days and can hold up to two tampons’ worth; the Cheeky is for medium days and holds up to one tampon’s worth; and the Thong is for light days, holding up to a half-tampon’s worth. In November, the company will be launching a boy short style.
 
Through the sales of the underwear, the company is supporting women and girls in the developing world, just like the girl Agrawal met in South Africa. Thinx has partnered with AFRIpads, a business in Uganda that trains and employs local women to make reusable menstrual pads, which are then sold locally in the community at affordable prices. For every pair of underwear sold, Thinx funds a pack of reusable pads for girls in Uganda. “AFRIpads can offer a lower price because we’re subsidizing the cost to make the pads, and it’s a win-win for everybody,” she says. Soon, Thinx will extend its support for women in developing nations when it partners with an Indian organization called Pasand, a social enterprise that educates adolescents on personal health and wellness.
 
Up next for Agrawal and her team is the launch of a new brand next month—Icon underwear, which will target the light incontinence market. Icon is an alternative to bulky and uncomfortable incontinence products on the market, or for women who wear a panty liner or pad every day to absorb urine leaks, according to Agrawal. “To have a pair of underwear that looks like a beautiful black, sexy pair of underwear while supporting you during [light urine leaks] is a game changer,” she says.
 
Icon underwear will feature similar technology to Thinx, but will wick faster, absorb more (up to 5.5 teaspoons of liquid), and will be odorless.
 
Through future sales of Icon, the company will support the Fistula Foundation. “We’re helping fistula patients get surgery and get back to their normal lives,” she says.