Chatting with TOTM About Sustainable Period Care

Interview with Fiona Bassett (Fee) from TOTM (Time of the Month)

What is this interview?

Lydia (@lydsustainableliving) spoke to Fee from TOTM to ask some questions regarding TOTM as a company, and sustainable period care, and just have a general chat to remove the stigma around periods and help bring as much awareness as possible to period care and some of the amazing brands in the sustainable period care industry!

I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to call Fee and have a 45-minute long chat about periods, sustainability, and wellbeing – this is a shortened transcript from our chat which we had in February 2022.

KEY POINTS:

• TOTM was founded by a male and female founder, encouraging everyone to become aware of the issues and topics surrounding period care

• They have decided to go against conventional products that harm the planet and your body, opting for planet-friendly and chemical-free products. The enterprise realizes that conventional products are directly harming the planet (90% of a conventional pad is plastic!) so TOTM wants to offer a friendlier choice.

• TOTM is super focused on inclusivity at every stage of period talk, from schools to the workplace

• The main goals of TOTM are to remove stigma; create products that are healthier without plastic and chemicals; educate; and offer more sustainable products – they fill the silence on social media at every opportunity to create more awareness

• You can find their products on their website, and in many stores nationwide!

click here to go straight to the TOTM website, and here to go straight to the 'Mood' blog on their website!

Fee's Top Tips for making yourself feel better on your period:

• Use the 'Moody' tracking app – it includes tracking, wellbeing tips, and advice based on where you are in your cycle

• SLOW exercises

• Eat nourishing food without too much salt or alcohol (they increase inflammation)

• Use a wheat bag to aid cramps

• Drink tea and eat chocolate with Netflix on – INDULGE!!

L: So, let's start by hearing a bit about you – how long have you been working with TOTM? What's the backstory of TOTM? What are some of the company goals?

F: TOTM was founded by a male and female founder which is great as we're all about making EVERYONE aware of the issues and topics related to menstruation. We launched in 2016 in the UK with the mission to bring better and more positive branding to the space! Our perspective is all about shaking the industry up for good. So, a bit of background...I'm the head of marketing at TOTM and I look after the brand, our community, and the action we do as a brand. I'm essentially in charge of growing and nurturing TOTM to be the brand that we want it to be in this industry.

TOTM launched when both founders were looking at the industry and trying to figure out how things could be more convenient for people because having periods isn't always predictable, they can be irregular, and I feel like at some point everyone has been in the situation where you're like "Omg I need products, but I don't have anything on me!!!", so they wanted to make it more convenient with something like a subscription service.

They also realized that there was a real need for change with the materials being used as conventional products aren't great for the planet, or completely healthy. The ingredients and materials used are potentially harmful and bad when it comes to wellness with things like fragrances being used in pads etc. We deserve a better product in that respect, so the brand formation grew as a result of that to shake things up in terms of products, how we shop, and the message the brand emits. Marketing within the space has fed the taboo around periods in things like using blue liquid in ads rather than red, and wrappers being promoted as 'discrete'. These aren't necessarily the CAUSE of period taboo, but it's ingrained in society. We should be moving away from that now, and speaking more openly about periods from the classroom to the workplace and all areas of society, in which brands play a huge role.

L: I think that's why I love TOTM so much because that's also something I'm trying to work towards – in school, I was only taught the biological side of menstruation but I was never taught about what to do when I first got my period, and conversations were always uncomfortable so I think it's so important for brands and social media to get conversations going to help remove the stigma.

F: It's so true about it being very reproductive organ focused when it comes to talks in schools – they teach about the cycle in terms of movement but when it comes to PMS, and what that means throughout the body, it's never spoken about. Since working in this space, I've learned so much about myself – how my hormones shift every day, and how I will feel because of that. We also aren't taught about what a 'heavy' flow is, what period pain is, or about conditions such as endometriosis and PMDD – there are so many things left out of the conversation.

L: Why do you think it's important to have a brand like this available to consumers? We touched on this briefly but I think accessibility and inclusivity are key elements – lots of brands, social media, and marketing in the industry are very woman-focused, whereas non-binary and trans people don't get much representation, which I imagine must be very alienating, so having a more inclusive environment for period care is so beneficial.

F: Definitely! Inclusivity is so important on every level. Even with things like segregated 'period talk' sessions in school, everyone needs to be included, whether they identify as a woman or not to help people understand, and be empathetic towards people if they ever had any issues regarding their menstrual health. TOTM is doing some work at the moment on how periods are spoken about in the workplace, and it's so eye-opening because there is a massive misconception about what menstruation is and how it is for people who experience periods.

To read more about this, click here.

L: Moving towards sustainability specifically, what does sustainability mean to you? What does it mean for TOTM? And what does having a sustainable and healthy period look like for the company?

F: To me, sustainability is all about keeping things going and ensuring everything on the planet runs in the best way possible, and protecting it. We are in such a critical stage where we are massively harming the planet with so many industries, so it's all about trying to switch our everyday actions so that we have a future on a prosperous planet.

From TOTM's perspective, there is a need for sustainability because conventional products are directly harming the planet. Conventional cotton is very damaging in terms of pesticide use, water use, and toxic ingredients which cause up to 1 million farmer deaths per year, so it's also really unethical. Cotton is spoken about a lot from a fast fashion standpoint, but never from a period perspective which is ridiculous because there is such a high volume of products used, and they are essential items so we shouldn't feel at a compromise. There's also the plastic side of things, with conventional pads containing up to 90% plastic, and tampon applicators sticking around for 500+ years. From our perspective, it's about offering a CHOICE of products that can help protect the planet.

We shouldn't be blamed for having periods or feel guilty for having to use things for our periods, but if people can access more sustainable and healthy products, only positive things can come of that. The key message is that we never want to force somebody to use a product that they aren't comfortable with because everyone's experience is so personal.

L: I saw on TOTM's website that the goals and missions of the company are to remove stigma, create products that are healthier without plastic & chemicals, educate, and have more sustainable products on the market. How do these goals resonate with you and why does TOTM feel that these specific elements are so important? How is the company going about these goals?

F: Okay let's start with stigma. Stigma is the root of all of these things because we aren't talking about periods enough so there is a huge silence around periods and this whole thing of them being treated as invisible in certain environments and huge masking of problems when it comes to the products we're using, access to them, period dignity, and inclusivity with these all coming under stigma because if we aren't talking about periods enough, how can we address issues under the surface? No one should be ashamed of having a period, they're so natural!!! We go about this on our platform by talking about 'uncomfortable topics' and campaigning for change around that. We have a few hashtags like our #talkingperiods and have done a few other activities to show that it's okay to talk about periods. 'Mood' is our blog that gives people space to talk about periods, and learn about them because the more one learns, the more likely they are to talk about it. Wellbeing education is linked to stigma because it goes way back to the classroom, and how the conversation about periods is handled. If there is a lack of education around certain topics, the stigma is accidentally fed, leading to further misconceptions.

Using better, healthier ingredients is something that grows every day with the products we offer by constantly working on them. In 2019, we were actually the first company to take away plastic wrappers from our products. One of the big issues we find is that more sustainable products aren't as accessible so we are also working towards that – we used to only be available online but in the last few years have gone into huge supermarkets around the country, and we supply workplaces & universities with free products for the bathrooms.

Moving onto sustainability, we try to get that extra step further with our products – we're carbon neutral as a brand, and are just about to launch a campaign with Plastic Bank whereby we offset the sales of our tampon applicators by removing plastic from the ocean with every box of our cardboard applicators. This is a really good opportunity for us to send a message about flushing in general because I believe it's 1.3. billion menstrual products that are flushed down the toilet per year in the UK, which is obviously huge for the environment. We never want to blame consumers, but it's more about education and the lack of awareness due to stigma.

L: I had no idea that that many products were being flushed!! I completely agree about taking a non-judgmental stance on things because it's a huge statistic but it's good to educate consumers rather than place blame on them.

Okay, so these are a bit more personal period-related questions – which product is your go-to? How do you look after yourself when you're on your period? What makes you feel better?

F: I looove questions like this because I love talking about this stuff!! The first thing is, I track my menstrual cycle using the 'Moody' tracking app. I think this is number one as you can then prepare for when your period will come, and the Moody app gives you wellbeing tips and tailors the advice to where you are in your cycle! It means I can say to myself "Okay this week, I'm going to be extra mindful because I know that XYZ is happening".

I always do slow exercises rather than vigorous activity, eat things that are a bit more nourishing, and try to limit things like alcohol and salt as they can massively increase inflammation, which makes symptoms worse. When I'm on my period, I love the TOTM pads – I think they're genuinely amazing and so comfortable without that plastic-y feeling. I still get cramps so I like to use this wheat bag which I just microwave and reuse.

My biggest thing is that I just slow down and let it be in the sense that I know I'm gonna be tired and just want to curl up and watch the telly. I'm the type of person who needs to properly recharge, especially for the first few days. I also love tea, particularly turmeric tea, which is great for inflammation and cramps. Honestly, I think because I work in the space I can go a bit overboard but I see it as a kind of self-care excuse and a time to properly relax.

L: Thanks so much for chatting with me today. One final question – how can people reading this find TOTM, get in contact with someone if they have a question, or get involved by looking at your products and things?

F: Thank you!!! We welcome everybody to get involved on our social media pages, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and our blog 'Mood'. Also, you can join our newsletter list so newsletters are sent directly to you. We're bringing a period coach on board so people can ask questions, and if you're a subscriber, there are bi-monthly 'drop-in clinics' where you can pop in and ask questions to be answered by the coach. We also sell our products on the website and we're in Tesco, M&S, Superdrug, and Morrison's, and we supply some universities with products, which I love because people at uni shouldn't have to worry about whether they can access products – it's all about period dignity at the end of the day.