Seaford company proves you can help the environment and save money
Helen Rankin, the founder of Cheeky Wipes, based in Seaford, started her reusables company in 2008.
Since 2016 alone Cheeky Wipes have saved around 60 million disposables - packs of wipes and period products - from landfill.
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Hide AdHelen said: "We saw an increase in sales of around 50 per cent year on year at the start of lockdown when people couldn't get guaranteed access to disposable products which gave them the incentive they needed to break their disposable habits.
"This has slowed, probably due to perception of sustainable products being more expensive which is why we're on a mission to show how much money can be saved too, alongside protecting our planet.
"At Cheeky Wipes and Cheeky Pants we don't believe that switching to more sustainable options has to be difficult or expensive and we want to prove it.
"We're challenging parents with our 'swap to save, guaranteed' message. Swapping to our reusable wipes could save parents more than £500 over two years which is a lot of money, especially with soaring costs and 'shrinkflation' on packs of disposable wipes now containing 20 per cent less wipes.
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Hide Ad"We're so certain that parents will love our wipes that we guarantee to refund their money if they don't.
"Period pants are just way more comfortable and effective to use than disposable products, brilliant for teens and tweens. Our customers regularly call them 'game-changers' for a reason. Again, we're so sure that people will love them that we've got a 90 day trial period, love them or your money back."
Many traditional plastic-based hygiene products take over 500 years to decompose.
On average, a person uses 12,000 disposable sanitary products in their lifetime, and 20 billion menstrual products end up in landfills each year - but people are starting to make a change.
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Hide AdPeople around the world are changing their menstrual hygiene habits and switching to healthier and eco-friendly reusable products.
Intimate health brand Intimina conducted a survey to find out how aware people are of their ecological contribution when it comes to menstrual products, and even though 67 per cent of those surveyed were unaware of the average number of disposable menstrual products people use in their lifetime, the results revealed more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of sustainability when it comes to managing their periods.
The research found 72 per cent of respondents said they consider their lifestyle sustainable, meaning that they try to make choices that aim to reduce their individual and collective environmental impact.
When purchasing and using menstrual products such as pads and tampons, nearly three out of five (59 per cent) respondents consider the effects on the environment and the amount of menstrual waste these products represent.
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Hide AdWhat’s more, 67 per cent of those surveyed were unaware of the average number of disposable menstrual products people use in their lifetime.
Still, 42 per cent have tried eco-friendly menstrual products - with 63 per cent switching to using a menstrual cup or a different reusable menstrual product.
To help people understand their menstrual waste production and its impact on the environment, Intimina has created the Greentimina Menstrual Waste Calculator which you can visit here.
This simple tool calculates the amount of waste a person produces by using disposable menstrual products during their lifetime. It also estimates how much money a person will spend on those products.
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Hide AdDanela Zagar from INTIMINA, the brand behind the research, said: “When it comes to changing our daily habits for environmental benefits, changing personal menstruation management and switching to reusable products plays a crucial part. The numbers describing the waste attributed to disposable menstrual products can be overwhelming.
“Still, with small steps and small decisions oriented towards purchasing eco-friendly products, each person can reduce their carbon footprint and make a difference in saving the planet.”
To find out more about Cheeky Wipes, visit www.cheekywipes.com