Reusable period pads: Lilypads reflections and looking forward

Today, I thought I would look back on 2020 and shine a light on the inspiration behind our pads. Although I am not a fan of the ‘New year, new me’ narrative, I think the start of the year is always a nice reminder to pause and reflect. So, to start with let’s review how we got to where we are.

Looking back on 2020…

2020 was a challenging year of loss and listening. It has forced us to slow down, to lean in and learn more about the world we live in and the world we hope to live in.

Lilypads Highlights

I started working full-time for Lilypads in the Summer of 2020 (amongst the craziness) after graduating. So with a focus on reflection I thought I would share my Lilypads highlights with you today.

1. Crowdfunder: Although a pretty hectic period, the Crowdfunder is a massive highlight for me. We smashed our Crowdfunder target in a week with YOUR help. I cannot thank everyone who supported us enough.
2. The Time of the Week Podcast: Our podcast and social media has been an amazing way to connect with our customers. We love chatting about all the topics we love and get the chance to share a little bit of us with you. I am so excited to keep building on this community and connecting with our customers.
3. International work: Selling our pads has allowed us to work with amazing partners from around the world. For every pack we sell, we are able to sponsor a pack internationally. Consequently, using collaborative programmes we can help increase safe access to period products ensuring no one is limited by their period.
4. Dancing around the classroom: Lilypads education is one of my favourite aspects of what we do. Our programme is taught in a fun, inclusive and interactive way to try and tear down the stereotypes around puberty and periods. A real highlight for me was at the start of 2020 when we were still able to teach this in schools. Hopefully, we will be able to resume this at some point…

Our pads

A massive step for Lilypads has been finally sharing our reusable period pads with you. Since starting selling these on our website we have also began to improve our pads based on feedback from our incredible customers.

So what is the inspiration behind our pads?

Reusable period pads are a comfy and sustainable alternative to disposable period pads. When we began developing our pads for our international model we tested these on our friends and family. The feedback we got was amazing and we quickly realised that many people with periods hated their current product.

They found them itchy or wasteful or hated having to use a plastic pad to back up their cup or tampon. We strongly believe in sustainability and believe it should not sacrifice comfort or effectiveness and should not be a luxury. Our pads are designed to be super comfortable, absorbent and discreet. They are designed to work well and make you feel comfortable throughout the day as well as cutting the carbon footprint of disposable pads by 90%.

Different pads with different aims

You may have seen on our website we have a range of our products including Back up pads, superstar pads, active pads and night pads. Each of these aims to solve a problem which people with periods commonly find with their current products. So what is the inspiration behind one of these?

Let’s start with the Backup Pads…

Why back up? We wanted to create a pad which could be used as a backup to internal products. We know that cups, tampons and discs can sometimes leak. That’s expected. We also know that even if we haven’t experienced a leak many of us will use a pad just in case. Extra reassurance is not a bad thing. It allows us take on the day, ace that presentation at work, get a PB in our running race smash a new dance move.

We designed our back-up pads with you in mind. Our team have periods. We know that sometimes the cup can just be a pain and not work or sometimes leak through our own experiences. We wanted to create a comfy pad which is not bulky or obvious. It is soft, thin and discreet. Perfect for extra reassurance without adding a monthly cost or a crinkly feeling.

Want to try our pads or find out more? Click here.