TABOO SANITARY PRODUCTS
Three years ago, two 18-year-old girls, fresh out of High School had a bloody good idea and now it’s time for us all to cotton on!
Co-Founders Eloise Hall & Isobel Marshall decided to join the menstrual market after a Bond University Leadership Conference. The girls were left inspired to establish a business that enabled the everyday purchases of Australians to improve the lives of people around the world.
The net profits of their company TABOO Sanitary Products are directly donated to OneGirl; an organisation working in Sierra Leone and Uganda.
OneGirl uses a Microfinance model that employs local women to distribute biodegradable pads to other women in their community. This access to pads enables young women to go to school on their period whilst supporting the local economy in a sustainable way.
Half of all Australians will need sanitary products for a large part of their lives, and they usually need to purchase them every month. In fact, Australians spend $300 million on sanitary products annually.
Knowing this, TABOO Co-founder Isobel also wanted to help women closer to home, ‘We are very aware of the need that exists in Australia too. For that reason, we have partnered with NPY Women’s Council and Vinnie’s Crisis Centre to give our customers the opportunity to subscribe to our product on behalf of a woman in community Australia or a woman requiring emergency care in SA.’
Over the past three years Isobel and Eloise have spent their time presenting to school and community groups in Australia, releasing a line of conversation-starting merchandise and doing whatever they can to share their message. All of these activities have the primary goal of starting the conversation around menstruation in a global context – let’s break that stigma ladies!
TABOO was initially available online through a subscription model, however their products are now also available in IGA Malvern, Adelaide. Keep an eye out for them on other supermarket shelves soon!