Aisle (company)
Aisle (known as Lunapads from 1993 to 2019) is a business in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that manufactures washable feminine hygiene products,[1] including cloth menstrual pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups.
Formerly | Lunapads |
---|---|
Industry | Menstrual products |
Founded | 1995 |
Founder | Madeleine Shaw |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Products | Cloth menstrual pads, underwear, menstrual cups |
Website | periodaisle |
Overview
History
The products were designed and created by fashion designer Madeleine Shaw in 1993. Shaw wrote the first business plan for Lunapads in 1994, and in 1995 opened a store and small production facility. In 1999 Lunapads was co-founded with Suzanne Siemens,[2] an accountant that Shaw met at a community leadership course. The companies mission was "to create a more positive and informed relationship between woman and their bodies and the Earth".[3]
Lunapads mentored AFRIpads,[4] a project started to help resolve the issue of girls in developing nations missing school due to a lack of adequate sanitary protection and resources available to manage their periods.[5]
In 2020, Lunapads rebranded as Aisle.[6]
Description
Lunapads were a liner-on-top style cloth menstrual pad as opposed to the more common "envelope" style. The pads have two parts; a Pad Base which snaps around the underwear of the wearer and a Liner Insert which is inserted under two bands on either end of the pad. Each pad consists of two layers of cotton flannel base topped with a central pad made of one layer of nylon and two layers of cotton fleece with bands at either end to hold liners.[7] This product was discontinued in 2020, and replaced with a design using technical cotton.
Luna Undies were period underwear, designed to function on their own as a menstrual product. A nine-inch long panel of cotton fleece is sewn permanently into the gusset, with cotton bands at each end to hold liner inserts. Luna Undies are most frequently considered a menstrual product, but are also worn as maternity underwear (prenatal and post-partum), and used by those who experience light or stress incontinence. This product was discontinued in 2020, and replaced with Aisle Undies.
References
- Wayne Visser (8 September 2017). The World Guide to Sustainable Enterprise: Volume 4: the Americas. Taylor & Francis. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-1-351-28454-7.
- "Long-time menstrual business Lunapads catches global zero-waste wave". thestar.com. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
- Herstory 2011. Coteau Books. pp. 78–. ISBN 978-1-55050-427-9.
- Griffin, Jenny (November 18, 2014). "Keeping Girls in School Is This Startup's Mission". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- "How To Get Pads, Tampons, & Other Period Products During The Coronavirus Crisis". Bustle. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
- Radin, Sara (May 6, 2021). "Why this period-care brand is offering a "cradle to grave" analysis". Vogue. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- America, Good Morning. "5 ways women are reclaiming their period products". Good Morning America. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
Additional sources
- "Forget adding third floor, new plan calls for a 10-storey tower". The Vancouver Sun. November 1, 2007. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- Severinson, Peter (April 4, 2011). "Lunapads International Products Ltd". BC Business. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- "BBB Announces 2011 Torch Awards Recipients". Better Business Bureau. October 27, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- Lau, Lucy (May 21, 2019). "Meet the Vancouver Businesses That are Fighting Period Stigma". Vancouver Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2022.