Period underwear is all the rage right now. Designed to absorb menstrual blood, period underwear prevents leaks and stains without feeling wet or bulky. Sounds awesome, right? But does period underwear live up to the hype? How does period underwear even work?! 

Period underwear, period pants, period panties — or period undies as we like to call them here at Aisle - whatever you want to call them, they are having a bit of a moment right now. And, let’s be honest what’s not to like? Comfortable, eco-friendly, and easy-to-use; period underwear really does have it all!

We have some very big news to share! Aisle (formerly Lunapads) has been acquired by Lux Perry, the visionary young CEO behind the period pain relief startup Somedays. We hope that you will be as excited about this new direction for Aisle’s future as we are.

If figuring out how to wash period underwear or cloth pads seems daunting - good news! Aisle undies and pads are intentionally designed to fit easily into your regular laundry routine.

In February, we were able to ship 200 pairs of our period boxers directly to people who needed them across North America and Europe, helping transgender people who might not have access to our products otherwise feel supported.

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? 

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?

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.