Egal, a company on a mission to give periods equal treatment in the restroom, is launching a new menstrual pad that will be as accessible as toilet paper. While 300 million people menstruate daily, unpredictable periods and a lack of access to period products can lead to embarrassment and missed work or school. The company is launching its product with $1 million investment angel funding.

Egal is making it easier than ever to provide free period products with the first and only bathroom in-stall solution. Egal pads are manufactured in roll form, 40 on each roll, so they can be mounted on existing toilet paper dispensers or in Egal’s custom-designed dispensers. Located inside each stall next to the toilet paper, the pads are available when and where they are needed.

Typically, pads or tampons are provided in vending machines out by the sink — not in a useful location, and often those machines are empty or jammed. Egal pads are less expensive to maintain than products in vending machines because they are easy to refill, and require less space and packaging.

“I understand the humiliation and frustration when your period arrives and you don’t have the products you need. It’s very stressful and can throw off your whole day,” says Penelope Finnie, CEO of Egal. “Our goal with Egal pads is to be there where we are needed to help manage periods with confidence so users can be productive and successful moving forward.”

The problem with periods is significant. In a study by the Free the Tampon Foundation, nearly 62% of the women polled immediately made an unplanned trip to the store because they lacked period products. Seventy-nine percent have used toilet paper or unhygienic alternatives when faced with lack of access to period products in public bathrooms. The State of the Period study by Thinx and PERIOD found that 25% of surveyed teenagers who menstruate missed class because they had no access to tampons or pads. Additionally, the World Bank estimates that 500 million women and girls globally experience period poverty or lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities needed to manage their menstrual hygiene.

Recently there has been nationwide and global demand to mandate free period products in public bathrooms. In the U.S., more than 20 states and the District of Columbia have mandated or made funds available for period products to be free in public schools. Ann Arbor, MI, is the first city to require free period products in all public buildings. California has a proposed bill to require free products in workplace and state buildings. Last year, Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free for anyone who needs them. Other countries with similar period legislation include Australia, England, France, New Zealand and the city of Seoul, South Korea.

“Egal means equal. We believe providing period products in the restroom is about gender equality. After all, periods are just another bodily function,” says Tom Devlin, Egal’s founder and chief technology officer. “Public bathrooms provide toilet paper, towels, soap and tissues. Why not pads?”

“And vending machines are expensive,” adds Devlin. “The city of Brookline in Massachusetts spent $40,000 on vending machines. How about zero?”

The company is currently conducting pilot programs at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Vermont and Williams College. In addition, Egal Pads are being installed in Cambridge Public Schools and the Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center in Massachusetts, as well as select schools in Rhode Island. Outside the U.S., Egal has installations at a private school in the United Kingdom and two schools in Rwanda.

In 2022, Egal’s Pads on a Roll won the Hygienix Innovation Award.