In recent years, dozens of brands and styles of period underwear (aka “period panties” - we’re not wild about this term, however respect that others may know them this way) have become widely available. So what is period underwear? And how does a comfort-seeking, eco-conscious person choose the best period undies for your body, your values, your lifestyle and the planet? 

As longtime leaders in the sustainable menstrual health movement, we’ve been advocates for the transparent disclosure of ingredients in menstrual products. Until very recently, little material action has been taken on the issue in North America, thanks to ‘grandfathered’ regulatory clauses that allow manufacturers to keep ‘proprietary’ ingredient information to themselves. 

The growth of the reusable menstrual care industry is seeing a classic business trend common in the apparel industry: new entrants making low-quality goods, looking to jump on the bandwagon of a hot product category to attract customers and cash in.

On the face of it, lower-cost products seem like a good thing, but we need to ask what the true impact of this is: who actually loses in this situation?

Menstrual products are essential personal hygiene supplies, alongside toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels. Provision of these essential supplies are unquestionably the re sponsibility of the institutions where the bathrooms are located. 

Our question is: If free disposable pads and tampons are now being funded for students, employees and others, why not reusables too? 

At Aisle, our dedication to quality, sustainability and product safety border on being obsessive. In fact, the company was originally founded to create products that were free of allergens, bleaches and other irritants. The explosive popularity of reusable menstrual products in recent years has led to concern around the presence of PFAS in period underwear. Let’s take a closer look.

Planet-Positive Periods is the outcome of a new and powerful creative partnership between Aisle, Green Periods and PERIOD. We are thrilled with this new suite of up-to-the-minute research and resources about sustainability and menstruation, all in a free, open-source format available to anyone.

Sustainability and transparency are two important value pillars for Aisle. While many of our efforts are ongoing (such as our commitment to being a top ranked B Corp, and conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our products’ environmental impacts) we also do an annual Impact Report, which includes our social impact and menstrual equity projects.

BASE period undies will absorb 4 tampons worth of menstrual flow - ideal for light to moderate periods, or as a back-up to a cup or tampon. BASE is available in three popular styles, whether you’re looking for a bikini or period thong, in a range of sizes from XS to 5XL.

Living in an era of climate emergency, we all want to do what we can to make a difference. However, as consumers it can be challenging to identify greenwashing (false implied claims about sustainability) or which choices are more truly green than others. 

The effects of gender dysphoria vary from person-to-person but many people told us that that gender-affirming period underwear like our period boxers makes having a period a little more bearable. Many appreciated knowing we offered plus size period underwear that would truly fit their body. The security of wearing absorbent and leakproof period underwear also gave them comfort. These are the reasons our #BoxersUnderTheTree campaign exists. 

Aisle has never been a traditional business. Since 1993, when we created the first groundbreaking collection of professionally made cloth menstrual pads and period underwear, Aisle has put people and impact first.

This article is based on a conversation between Madeleine Shaw, co-founder of Aisle, and Minhtam Tran, the former Project Leader for Decolonizing Menstrual Health, about their experiences and learnings from designing and leading interviews as part of the Decolonizing Menstrual Health interview series.