Our commitments
Sustainability
- Social and environmental responsibility lies in what we consider to be the origin of our brand. For all the decisions we have to make, sustainability is the main factor to take into account.
- Therefore, we adopt a sustainability strategy that goes beyond the materials chosen in our production or the deliveries of our orders.
Environmental Responsibility
Discover some of our environmental responsibility commitments.
Materials
- All materials in our menstrual underwear are recycled or from renewable sources, with the exception of the waterproof layer fabric, as we consider that increasing the longevity of the product will always be the choice with the least environmental impact. Therefore, we guarantee at least two years of use (with machine washes up to 30°C), without a decrease in waterproofing capacity.
- In this first collection, we managed to ensure that both the materials for the menstrual panties and those for the waterproof bag come from unused stock. national factories.
- Composition labels, in addition to being mandatory, are useful in the sorting phase of parts for recycling. However, to ensure comfort, cutting the tag is one of the first things we do when purchasing underwear. In order not to compromise end-of-life recycling and to ensure maximum comfort, while saving fabric (cotton or polyester) from the label, we decided to stamp our labels instead of printing them.
Shipping
- All of our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard, as well as the inner packaging paper. They can be returned to us (in Lisbon and Guimarães), so we can reuse them.
- Also the card with washing instructions, composition and our direct telephone contact (because it is natural for questions to arise and we are here to help!) is printed on recycled material.
- The dried flowers that accompany the order are all (without exception) reused from surplus party and company materials and can also be given to us for reuse.
- The only non-recycled material in the shipment is the label that seals our box. We are working to find an option that guarantees the tamper-proofness of the box and is made with 100% recycled materials.
- We choose carriers with electric shipments and compensate for transport emissions when the electric option is not viable (such as when shipping to islands).
Social Responsibility
Often overlooked, social responsibility is, for us, part of an integrated sustainability strategy. And this can be seen in some of the commitments we have adopted.
- In order to comply with the most rigorous quality standards, we chose to work with a family-run Portuguese underwear factory that has over 45 years of experience in this area and was a pioneer in production of menstrual underwear. We regularly visit the factory and personally meet the team that brings our menstrual underwear to life. We make a point of maintaining this close relationship with our suppliers, in order to ensure good labor practices for our customers and create successful partnerships, which allow us to innovate and bring increasingly better products to the market.
- For work that involves less specialization ( such as the waterproof carrying bags for our menstrual panties), we work closely with independent seamstresses, with many years of experience, who prefer to manage their time and income individually. We believe that, with this choice, we help independent women to guarantee their freedom and financial stability.
- Instead of models, we decided to hire two women who inspire us a lot in the area of sustainability for our launch session. We want to amplify the voices of women who, through their work, help bring beauty, balance and justice to the world and we feel that, through them, we can inspire so many others to find their way.
- We are a team of women for women, in a world where company management is still predominantly male. We believe in the power of sisterhood and in supporting and expanding the work of other women. If you know of any woman's work, anywhere in the world, that overlaps with ours, send us an email to hello@normperiod.com. We'd love to stay in touch!
We know that sustainability is not an “end of line” and that we are just at the starting point. There is much more to do to continually improve and here we will be, month after month, year after year, making sustainability our middle name and improving all our operations in order to generate the maximum positive impact on the planet and people.