21% of women in the UK can not afford menstrual products, that increases to 50% in developing countries. The Asan Menstrual Cup can replace over 2,500 sanitary pads and lasts up to 10 years.
Over 15 million women in the UK are of menstrual age, and yet one in five (21%) of them can not afford menstrual products, a 12% increase within the last year.
Sadly, due to the increase, two in five (41%) women have been forced to keep sanitary pads or tampons in for longer, with three in five (61%) admitting to using other items such as cotton wool, socks and even newspaper instead of a sanitary product.
The Need for Cups
To bring about change and improve period poverty across the world, Ira Guha, founder of Asan created an award winning menstrual cup which can replace over 2,500 sanitary pads and save women hundreds of pounds.
Ira shared: “I took period products for granted and couldn’t believe that someone I knew well was missing out on work due to her period. However it just took me a few mins of Googling to realise that this experience was completely universal – with 1.6 billion women and girls globally not being able to access safe period care. I was completely shocked.”
Ira started Asan in 2021 following a trip to India where she discovered a young woman was unable to work for several days due to using cheap sanitation pads. Sadly, these were the only products she could afford, but they left the woman with period rashes and a urinary tract infection.
As period poverty across the world continues, data shows women and girls living in developing countries are severely struggling, with half of them unable to afford access to any type of period product. This forces them to use rags, paper and sand to manage their periods that result in the infections.
Ira continued: “I shared one of my period cups with a woman who has been unable to work, and she loved it. She even asked me to bring some more from the UK for her sister and niece. Talk about them spread hugely and every time I travelled home from London to Bangalore I would carry lots of period cups and distribute them to women in my community.”
To help women both in the UK and developing countries, Asan donates one menstrual cup for free, every time one is bought, and works with some of the world’s most trusted NGOs and women’s cooperatives to distribute them. As well as this, Asan provides training on how to use menstrual cups, and spread further awareness on menstrual health.
Through Ira’s great work, Asan won the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award for social impact in May 2024, with the grant awarded allowing Asan to focus on the development of new products.
The Asan Cup
The Asan Cup has already stopped more than 200,000 tonnes of plastic waste from going to landfills and has enabled over 50,000 low income women and girls to attend school and work during periods. This has also saved over £20 million for low income households who no longer have to spend on period care.
Although menstrual cups can seem scary, the leakproof, anti-stain design features a unique removal ring, make it the best menstrual cup for beginners. Backed up by 5 star reviews, Asan customers rave about it’s ease of use, and ability to forget about their periods.
One customer stated: “I never liked using tampons so I switched to the Asan cup, and it’s amazing! It’s easy to put inside, to remove and wash. And I can work and workout comfortably. Girls, just go for it!”
Another customer confirmed this, revealing: “The Asan cup is quite flexible and I didn’t find it too difficult to insert, and it’s super easy to remove with the removal ring. Overall using this cup has been such a great thing. I am no longer uncomfortable and I almost forget I am on my period.”
