Review| Trade To Aid Reusable Sanitary Pads

Did you know it’s estimated that the average woman will use and throw away in excess of 10,000 sanitary pads in her menstrual lifetime. What’s worse is that many of these sanitary products end up in our rivers because they’re being flushed down the toilet.

I started using reusable sanitary pads two years ago and I haven’t looked back since. It’s been one of the best switches I’ve made. Not only does it save me money, it’s also better for the environment. Many women have lots of questions when thinking about making the switch to reusable sanitary pads. That’s why I wrote, ‘Everything you need to know about reusable sanitary pads‘.

They’re really not that scary and I promise if you make the switch, you won’t regret it. There are many reusable sanitary pads on the market nowadays but I’d like to introduce you to ‘Trade To Aid‘. For every pack of reusable sanitary pads sold, Trade To Aid donate a pack to someone in need in a refugee camp.

Trade To Aid are a social business so all of their profits go to funding menstrual education. I was sent a pack of their reusable sanitary pads to review. The pack includes 2 heavy flow pads, 2 medium flow pads, 2 light flor pads and a waterproof wet bag to keep them in on the go.

Photographed below are some of the pads. On the left we have the heavy flow pad, in the middle it’s the medium flow, and on the right, the light flow pad. Trade To Aid reusable sanitary pads are made from high-quality, super-soft bamboo charcoal, and recycled and reusable materials. Not only to reusable sanitary pads reduce waste, they also help to keep plastic out of landfill and away from the oceans.

Trade To Aid reusable sanitary pads really are super soft. They’re also really comfortable. The popper helps to keep them in place while being worn and even on my heaviest days, they were absorbent and didn’t leak.

The wet bag is handy for on the go. Simple pop your worn pad into the wet bag until you get home. There’s no odours and the bag looks pretty funky with it’s colourful design!

Wearing reusable sanitary pads is pretty much the same as wearing disposable ones except without all the nasty, uncomfortable plastic. Simply undo the popper, put your pad into your underwear so that the bamboo charcoal side is facing your body then fold the two wings of the pad backwards around your underwear and fasten the popper.

One of the main concern a lot of women have with reusable sanitary pads is how to wash them. You have a few different options depending on your level of squeamishness! For me personally, I like to rinse each pad in cold water and squeeze them to get as much blood out as possible. I then pop them in a bowl of cold water with a lilttle Vanish until I’m ready to wash them. I tend to leave the bowl in the bath tub but you can also buy buckets specifically for sanitary pads which are more discreet.

If the idea of squeezing as much blood out as possible isn’t for you, you can simply take the pad off, fold the grey ends towards each other, fold the wings together and fasten the popper. Then place the pad in your bag until you’re ready to wash.

To wash the pads I simply put mine on a cold wash for 30 minutes add that does the trick. I then hang them flat on the washing line to dry, ideally in direct sunlight. Just don’t tumble dry them as this is not recommended.

Overall, Trade To Aid reusable sanitary pads are a great choice. In summary, they do the job a period pad should do whilst being comfortable, absorbent and they look pretty good too!

Disclosure: I received a free pack of reusable sanitary pads in return for this review.