Introducing planet friendly period care and condoms. Here at EcoVibe, we're super excited to have teamed up with Here We Flo, who are bringing us eco-friendly materials and a whole lotta sass, leaving us feeling crazy confident and empowered in our messiest bodily moments.
Flo do things a little bit differently. They believe that what we put in our bodies should be as natural as possible and not horrible for the planet. Their mantra is 'Always Natural. Never Harmful. Always Adorable'...and that's exactly what their products are.
We've chatted to besties turned business partners Tara and Susan about all things Flo; From their humble beginnings, to sex, to getting pregnant on your period - Spoiler: It can be possible.
TALK US THROUGH THE CONCEPTION OF FLO
It all started out in the winter of 2013, besties Tara and Susan were having a classic bathroom chat in between classes at University, daydreaming about starting a business together. Tara wondered why she couldn’t find organic tampons anywhere…Loads of research, a masters dissertation, and heaps of terrible period-pun business names later, Here we Flo was born!
We love Flo’s mission, to make period care that inspires people to feel crazy confident and empowered about their messiest bodily moments.
HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE & ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS?
Super important.
We each use about 11,000 tampons or pads every year, and mainstream products are made of over 90% plastic and synthetic materials that take hundreds of years to biodegrade.
Choosing eco-friendlier alternatives reduces the impact we have on the environment – FLO pads and liners, for example, are made of organic, biodegradable and compostable bamboo that contributes to material diversity. They are also wrapped in biodegradable plant cellulose, and take under a year to decompose if composted, and under 5 years if simply disposed of in the general waste bin!
WE LOVE THAT YOU USE GENDER NEUTRAL TERMS WHEN IT COMES TO PERIODS & SEX. HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO ADOPT THIS?
Talking about periods, sex and our bodies is also essential in dismantling toxic views and stigmas surrounding things that almost all of us experience - regardless of gender.
So when using gendered language in these discussions, we alienate people out of the conversation - people who bring vital viewpoints to improving menstrual health, sexual wellness and so on.
WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 SEX/PERIOD MYTHS THAT YOU HEAR THE MOST AND NEED TO BE DEBUNKED?
Tampons Can Get Lost Inside You
Tampons can be daunting to people who haven’t used them before. One thing that tends to contribute to that, is the fear of getting a tampon lost in the deep dark depths of your internal organs. You should be relieved to hear that it’s not gonna happen.
Tampons sit in the vagina, and the vagina is a closed space. The only entrance or exit from the vagina is the vulva - the opening to the outside world between your legs - and the cervix. The cervix sits at the top of the vagina and is the hallway to the womb. There is a hole in the cervix that expands during labour, but ordinarily, it’s certainly not big enough for a tampon to fit through.
Menstrual Cycles Sync
It’s a hard pill to swallow. But there have been studies showing there’s no link between people spending time together and their menstrual cycles syncing up. In fact, a study by Clue even found that people were more likely to become out of sync over time, it’s just coincidence!
You Can’t Get Pregnant From Having Sex During Your Period
Having sex on your period doesn’t give you a free pass to forego contraception. You can get pregnant from having penis-in-vagina sex during your period. It’s unlikely - a lot of things have to align - but it can definitely happen. This is because sperm can live inside the body for around 5 days
HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OTHERS THAT PERIODS AND SEX IS NORMAL AND THAT WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT BOTH MORE?Talk about it with peers and family, it really is that simple! The more we talk about these ‘taboo’ subjects the more they will become normalised and also means we can look after and advocate for our health better when problems do arise.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T PURCHASED FROM FLO BEFORE, WHAT WOULD YOUR HERO PRODUCT BE TO RECOMMEND AND WHY?
It’s hard to choose, but I would say our hero product is our Eco-Applicator tampons. They come in adorable ice-cream tubs, so you can display them proudly in your bathroom!
