Our napkins

Design and manufacture

We are passionate about every detail of our napkins. The principles of practicality and excellence have been adhered to since Kayoko's first interest in making the napkins in 2014. We continually research the fabrics we use to ensure they are the most durable and appropriate for the girl's needs. Our napkins consist of two different types of fabrics - firstly, an absorbent fleece and secondly a breathable waterproof fabric.

Our napkins are made from recycled fabrics and are extremely practical to use. They are easy to attach to underwear and have excellent absorbency. They also wash well and air dry quickly which is important during both the winter and the monsoon seasons.

The fabrics are breathable, which makes the napkin comfortable to wear. These napkins are expected to last four or more years, depending on how well they are cared for.

The recycled fabrics we have chosen to use are made primarily from recycled plastic drink bottles. We are prevented from being able to use 100% recycled because of the processes needed to make the fabric waterproof. The absorbent fleece fabric is 100% recycled, and the breathable waterproof fabric is 79% recycled.

Although we originally hoped to use fabrics produced in India, our research demonstrated that currently, the most appropriate fabrics for us come from Taiwan. We continue to review Indian fabrics and aim to swap to them as soon as it is appropriate.

Our fabrics are printed specifically to meet our needs. Lines are woven into the fleece (by the Jacquard process) as it is made to show where the fabric needs to be cut and folded. The breathable fabric has nine unique napkin designs printed in a repeating grid. The designs combine traditional Japanese patterns with hand-drawn plant and flower shapes. We print in a single colour to minimise cost. The fabric is shipped to Kolkata and then freighted to different areas in India from there.

In 2019, Kayoko and Lizzie (napkin artwork designer) flew to Taiwan to continue researching fabrics. They found a company that was extremely willing to help with specific fabric requirements. This company has given us information on fabric durability tests, guided us through the printing process and is an expert in handling shipping. Companies in Taiwan are some of the best in the world at producing high-quality recycled fabric. Overall, we feel that we have secured the most suitable fabrics that have high quality and durability for making the napkins.

Our original designs provided three sizes of napkin, so the girls could choose the appropriate size for the amount of menstrual flow they were experiencing. The designs were based on the assumption that all the girls had access to toilets at school and that they could change their napkins there. However, with feedback from the girls about the napkins and how they found using them, we realised this assumption was sadly incorrect. We incorporated this feedback into our latest designs and now only give large napkins to the girls. This recent change appears to be better for the girls as they now report that they feel safer using the larger ones so they can avoid the abusive period shaming which happens if they have blood on their clothes.