While not every woman can afford to purchase a hybrid car, more women than ever are aware that their monthly feminine hygiene choice can also create a positive eco-footprint. One mother-daughter team is focused on making sure that women worldwide are aware of their newly-designed, reusable menstrual cup. The DivaCup™, www.divacup.com, is on the leading-edge of the U.S. $3.02 billion feminine hygiene market (in 2004). The category is expected to climb to $3.15 billion in 2010. Because there have been very few innovations in the feminine hygiene category in the last 50 years, the product represents a breakthrough concept for women.
“With all the state-of-the-art conveniences Western society has developed, it baffles us why outdated feminine products are still being used. We believe that reusable menstrual cups are the next generation of feminine hygiene because they are the most environmentally-responsible choice,” explains Carinne Chambers who began the company with her mother, Francine.
Landfills are over-taxed with feminine hygiene products. In 2000, over 55.9 million women (in the U.S. alone) were monthly users of disposable feminine hygiene products. The 41 year menstruation span (11-52 years) creates billions of pounds of disposable feminine hygiene products being “dumped” into the environment each year. In 1998, the figures for the U.S. were estimated at 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons, annually. The manufacture of these products uses great resources of energy, and the additives and surfactants they contain pollute rivers, streams and oceans.
With global focus on the environment and health, the company finds that women are looking at these products as a way to make a responsible environmental choice when it comes to feminine hygiene. Also, since menstrual cups have never been linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome, they find the alternative to tampons and pads a good option.
After 10 years of successfully selling other menstrual cups, the mother-daughter team redesigned the device making structural improvements and manufacturing it out of medical grade silicone. This material is the same used in knee replacements and heart valves for over five decades. The new material makes the cup comfortable, easy-to-use, clean, sanitary and reliable even with extreme sports, diving and yoga.
The product is available at natural food stores, upscale grocery, drug stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, and online at www.drugstore.com.