Tsuno – Changing the world, one tampon at a time

What’s the problem with periods?

A period is one of life’s non-negotiables for most women, which can be a hassle in the hustle and bustle of the western world, but in less developed countries, it can literally seal your fate.

UNICEF estimates that 10% of girls in Africa skip school during their menstrual cycle or drop out altogether when puberty starts. This direct correlation between quality of life and periods leads Dr Dani Barrington, Monash University research fellow to state “Being able to manage your period is a human right”.

Let’s talk about the ultimate ‘disposable’ products. Pads and tampons are made from cottons and wood pulps grown with pesticides and fertilizers, processed using bleach and dioxin, shipped worldwide – and then used for 1-2 hours. If we estimate that the average woman uses roughly 11,000 plastic wrapped tampons or pads in her life, which take centuries to degrade, the environmental price of periods is obviously exceptionally high.

And of course, on a personal level, it’s generally agreed that poking chemical laced objects inside your body isn’t ideal.  Add up all these issues, and it becomes apparent that how we deal with our periods has a deep global impact – on women’s health, social justice and the environment.

What happened when Roz found out?

Well, to be blunt, Roz was fairly blindsided by how a woman’s entire future prospects could be determined by whether she had access to affordable sanitary pads, or not. (That’s Roz in the centre, performing with The Clams, photo by Bri Hammond).

As an Industrial Design student at University in Melbourne, Tsuno founder Roz Campbell was doing a paper on the environmental and social impact of product design when she heard a speaker from One Girl and realised how access to menstrual products was a major contributor to inequality.

Then, she researched the manufacturing process and learned about the chemicals, the plastic waste, the toxic bleach. She decided that she could create a better sanitary product than the big brands, and through a successful crowdfunding campaign created the social enterprise she named Tsuno in 2014.

Tsuno – starting a period fuelled Tsunami of good!

50% of all profits from sales of Tsuno pads and tampons are donated to charities that focus on empowering women, with the main focus being education and menstrual support. Tsuno works in partnership with One Girl, who provide education scholarships and sanitary pads to marginalised girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda, and contribute to the work of The International Women’s Development Agency, Share the Dignity, The Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and Essentials for Women South Australia, providing sanitary products for asylum seekers, homeless women in Australia, and domestic violence survivors. In the last year, more than 100,000 pads have been donated, as Tsuno match public donations.

Far from resting on her laurels as a successful social entrepreneur, Roz says she is on a learning journey and has a lot more she wants to achieve with the Tsuno brand.

“I’ve found that things always take a lot longer than you think they will! I wanted to be donating millions of dollars by now, but I’m working on redefining my idea of success – and accepting what one woman can realistically achieve in a day.”

Roz has learnt to take up unexpected opportunities, like a distributor in Slovenia who has become one of her best customers, and coming to the party with her new range of organic cotton tampons when her loyal clientele asked for them.

“I hadn’t planned to sell organic cotton tampons, but it was obvious that customers thought it was a good idea – and as they say, the customer is always right!”

Eco conscious, hygienic, and very nearly waste free pads & tampons

Tsuno sanitary pads are made with sustainable bamboo and corn fibre, and the tampons are organic cotton – no chlorine or dioxin bleaches are used on any Tsuno product. Cotton for Tsuno’s new certified organic tampons is grown without the use of pesticides or fertilisers – because let’s face it, you don’t want pesticides in your tampons!

Bamboo is super eco-friendly and sustainable as it grows very fast, regrows when harvested and is hardy and easy to process; so there is no need for nasty pesticides or fertilizers, and bamboo fibres are naturally antibacterial, soft, breathable and super absorbent. Perfect for periods!

The packaging is gorgeous, with each shipment featuring a new artist’s designs on the recyclable cardboard boxes, and the biodegradable sleeves around each Tsuno pad make it easy to slip them into your bag and go. The pads have one layer of bio plastic, to ensure leak proof peace of mind, without contributing to landfills.

If you’d like to enjoy comfortable, absorbent period care and contribute to a better world at the same time, we can personally recommend the Tsuno Range. Nice one Roz.