Do Grace Pads come in darker colours?

Currently Grace Pads are only available in pink. Research has indicated that if the fabric is too dark, it makes it difficult to ensure all blood has been removed when washing.

Do you have to order the entire kit or can you just purchase the pads?

There is a duty of care associated with the provision of reusable sanitary pads which requires consideration of all aspects of the menstrual cycle. While re-usable pads are more sustainable than single-use products, how they are washed and re-used is vital to ensuring their safe and prolonged use.

Our Store, Wash & Dry Kits are designed to guarantee the long-term use of re-useable pads. In Malawi, as in many countries, menstruation remains a highly stigmatised issue. Therefore the need for discretion is a top priority. Re-usable pads must be soaked in soapy water for several hours to adequately remove menstrual blood. This is not possible to do in local water sources and sanitation facilities because they are a) not designed to manage this; and b) run severe risk of spreading disease through contamination of water sources. What is therefore required is a discreet tub, which can be filled with water from the local water source and then taken away to wash the pads. The bloodied water should later be disposed safely down a drain away from other community WASH facilities.

After washing, pads must be dried in direct sunlight to kill bacteria. The tub also functions as a drying station. The pads can be placed around the outside rim, or inside the tub and placed in a discrete location to dry. Once the pads have dried they can be safely stored in the tub until the next cycle.

See below:

I would like to purchase 3 or 4 pads. Is this an option?

Grace Pads offers a minimum of 5 pads per kit. Research indicates that 4 pads is not sufficient to manage a full menstrual cycle. Five pads at a minimum are required for the following reasons;

Will Grace Pads leak if worn for more than 5 hours?

For hygienic reasons, pads should generally not be worn for more than 4-5 hours. While Grace Pads are made from high-quality, super-absorbent microfibre, as with any sanitary pad the risk of leakage is increased the longer the pad is worn. With this in mind, each kit consists of 5 pads to ensure that there is always a clean one ready for use.

Do you have to buy the underwear and soap too?

As a standard, all Store, Wash & Dry Kits come with underwear and two bars of soap. Grace Pads SWD kit is designed to work as a system for effective Menstrual Hygiene Management. Research demonstrates that the aid sector lacks a well integrated and standardised solution. Removing any component of the kit undermines our efforts and objective to achieve sustainability and holistic management of menstruation.

By providing underwear in the kits, this ensures that a girl has all the resources required to manage her period and helps with quality control. Grace Pads specifically provides laundry soap containing anti-bacterial properties and therefore, if substituted, Grace Pads cannot guarantee that the pads will last 18+ months.

Does the tub come in a bigger size?

No, the tub has been specifically designed for a number of reasons;

Firstly, in Malawi the size of a standard ‘washing bucket’ (for clothes and household items), is quite large requiring a significant amount of clean water to soak items. The compact design of the SWD tub ensures that the pads can be completely soaked to remove stains using the least amount of water.

Secondly, as less water is used, less soap concentrate is also required meaning that the laundry soap provided in the SWD kits will last 18+ months.

Finally, research indicates that by providing a standard washing bucket size, the risk of it becoming a communal item used for different purposes such as collecting drinking water, washing clothes, bathing, and storing and preparing food significantly increases. Sharing a pad washing bucket with other family members (especially men) is not practical, hygienic, or culturally appropriate. It also significantly increases the risk of cross-contamination. The SWD tub is too small to be practical for other household needs, but ideal for the washing of sanitary pads.

How long will Grace Pads last?

Providing proper care in line with the instructions provided with our Store, Wash & Dry Kits, Grace Pads will last up to 18+ months, while the tub itself has a life span of 5+ years. After the initial order of kits, donation of additional materials can be made to increase the length of time that the pads can be used for.