29 April 2021

New line of period products is inclusive by design

Not everyone who menstruates is a woman or identifies as one. Which is why UK brand Freda just introduced a new line of period products that was specifically created to be inclusive.

Packaged in minimally-designed pouches, Cycle includes a full range of eco pads and organic cotton tampons that are 'free from plastics, pollutants and preconceptions.' An accompanying campaign video features people who menstruate but aren't cisgender women, explaining what it's like to buy and use products that don't consider their existence.

While Cycle seems to be the first tampon and pad brand that was deliberately launched as inclusive and degendered, UK drugstore chain Superdrug started using inclusive language on their line of Luna products last year.

It's an idea that's worth spreading to other parts of the world, to acknowledge and serve trans men, intersex and non-binary people who menstruate but don't identify as women. And the same goes for other products that have traditionally been gendered. As writer and trans advocate Kenny Ethan Jones points out in Cycle's campaign video: "Look at how easy it is to be inclusive, and look at how much it means to people."