LastPad - Reusable Menstrual Pads | Sustainable Period Care

The Rise of Sustainable Period Products and the Launch of LastPad

In recent years, a growing number of female-focused startups have successfully introduced products directly to consumers, frequently offering feminine hygiene items that are better designed and more considerate than conventional options.

A Gap in the Market for Innovation

The mainstream feminine hygiene market has experienced a notable lack of innovation, creating an opportunity for startups to address this deficiency. Companies like Thinx, with their absorbent menstrual panties, and Flex, offering a disc-shaped tampon alternative for use during intercourse, exemplify this trend. Daye further expands this space with CBD-infused tampons designed to alleviate period cramps.

Despite these advancements, a substantial level of product innovation remains absent from the category. Consequently, alternatives haven’t yet permeated the mainstream market to significantly influence its direction. The products commonly found on store shelves – disposable pads and tampons – remain largely unchanged, even with occasional modifications like organic cotton materials or minor design adjustments.

Emerging Alternatives and Consumer Acceptance

Period pants represent the most significant recent change in product availability, gaining traction in markets like the U.K., as reported by The Guardian.

Alongside this, the menstrual cup, while not new, is experiencing increased acceptance beyond its original niche user base. This signals a growing consumer willingness to explore different solutions for managing menstruation, moving away from traditional disposable options.

Furthermore, free bleeding, a practice with renewed interest, can be viewed as a form of protest against the shortcomings of mainstream period products.

Introducing LastPad: A Reusable Sanitary Towel

This context makes the upcoming launch of LastPad particularly noteworthy. LastPad is a reusable sanitary towel designed as an alternative to disposable products.

The pad’s distinctive black color immediately sets it apart from typical white sanitary towels. The company collaborated with a “luxury lingerie manufacture” to achieve a refined look and feel, evident in the product’s design.

Crucially, LastPad is engineered for repeated use. Each pad includes a fabric pouch, available in various colors, for convenient storage after use and before washing. The pad can be washed directly within the pouch, minimizing handling.

The Vision Behind LastObject and LastPad

LastPad is the creation of Danish designer and entrepreneur Isabel Aagaard, whose company, LastObject, has spent the past three years developing reusable alternatives to single-use hygiene and beauty products, such as Q-Tips and tissues.

To date, LastObject has sold approximately 1.5 million products across its existing range. LastPad marks the company’s first venture into a specifically female-focused product category.

Developing a washable sanitary pad presents a greater design challenge than creating reusable Q-Tips or tissues, due to the complexity of designing a comfortable, reliable, and intimate hygiene product capable of handling the variable nature of menstrual flow over repeated uses.

Design and Functionality

The pad’s design prioritizes both comfort and reliability, addressing common shortcomings of disposable pads.

Aagaard explains that the company dedicated two years to designing and prototyping LastPad before preparing it for market launch on Kickstarter, with shipping planned for February of the following year.

“We’re seeing amazing conversions [for the LastPad pre-campaign],” she states, expressing confidence in the anticipated demand. “This is our sixth [crowdfunder] campaign — and it’s looking really good. So I think the demand is bigger than I actually imagined. Because this is also the first product that is only for women. And we were very much in doubt that we should put it on Kickstarter because it’s a very male-dominated platform but it’s looking really positive.”

“We already started working on this two years ago so it’s really been a process. And also because we wanted it to be really innovative. Because right now you can see on the market there’ll be pads that are more like home sewn or do it yourself — and we wanted to really make an exclusive, very, very innovative version of that — that has a lot of the benefits that the single-use version has.”

Layered Construction for Optimal Performance

Each LastPad consists of three layers: a woven top layer designed to wick away moisture, a central absorbent layer made of bamboo, and a leak-proof TPU base.

“The first layer is a woven material that is really, really fine — it has a little bit of silver in it so that the odours will disappear. It’s also woven with small funnels so that the blood disappears very quickly into the middle layer — because it’s so important that you’re not like wet. Because that’s awful. So it dries quite quickly when you’re wearing it,” explains Aagaard. “And then the middle layer is 100% bamboo — it’s absorbent like crazy; 40% more absorbent than, for example, cotton. And it also has anti-bacterial properties. And then the bottom layer is a TPU [Thermoplastic Polyurethane] — which is just a leakproof cover; it’s comfortable, it’s not like a plastic bag but it does make sure that you cannot bleed through it.”

Secure and Convenient Fastening

Unlike disposable pads that rely on adhesive, LastPad utilizes wings that wrap around the underwear gusset and fasten underneath with soft Velcro.

A silicone strip on the underside of the pad further prevents movement and maintains a secure fit, even after repeated washing. Aagaard notes that temporary dust accumulation may slightly reduce stickiness, but it is easily restored with a quick wetting.

“Where I felt that we really made a huge difference is that on the back side of the pad — it has wings [with] a Velcro [fastener] that’s completely soft and you don’t feel it; even if you’re biking — that was like the big test — and then it has a silicone strip in the back and at the bottom, like a sticky silicone… so it doesn’t move around in your pants.”

Practical Considerations and Sizing

Using a single LastPad for an entire period is impractical due to the need for washing and drying. Therefore, a pack of several pads is necessary to replace disposable pads entirely.

The product is available in three sizes and thicknesses to accommodate different flow levels, allowing consumers to build a collection of LastPads for various needs, from panty liners to heavier-flow night pads.

Rigorous Testing and Development

“It wasn’t as simple as I thought it was going to be — but that’s also because you have to understand the viscoses of blood, for example, compared to water,” Aagaard tells TechCrunch. “And also a flow — it’s not just blood. There’s a lot of other stuff that come out. So it’s taking all of these things into consideration.”

“We’ve been testing it for so long,” she goes on. “That was our main thing with this product. A lot of the other [LastObject products] were very much about printing it, looking at it. Using it of course — but it took us long before we had it in actually a silicone form. Because that is also expensive. Whereas [LastPad] we could sew quite quickly just here at the office and [test it]… So we’ve just been testing it constantly — how’s the feeling? Getting it out to a lot of different women that wear different panties that have different cycles. So it’s really been about testing.”

Pricing and Longevity

A pack of three LastPads will be priced around $60, equating to approximately $20 per pad. While more expensive than disposable options, LastObject offers packs to reduce the per-pad cost.

The company estimates that each LastPad can withstand at least 240 washes, potentially lasting for two years and saving hundreds of disposable pads from landfill.

Although it may not necessarily save consumers money – depending on disposable pad choices and usage – the target audience is likely environmentally conscious and willing to invest in sustainable alternatives.

Comparison to Other Alternatives

The price point is higher than menstrual cups, which offer a cost-effective and long-lasting alternative. However, menstrual cups aren’t suitable for everyone and require access to clean water for rinsing and sanitization.

Aagaard acknowledges the benefits of menstrual cups but suggests LastPad can serve as a backup for leaks or added reassurance.

She expresses reservations about period pants due to the sensation of wetness they can cause.

Environmental Impact and Future Plans

While washing reusable pads requires resources, LastObject maintains that it’s more environmentally friendly than continually producing and disposing of single-use items, which contribute to pollution and CO2 emissions.

The company plans to publish a third-party lifecycle assessment (LCA) to support its environmental claims, comparing LastPad to disposable sanitary pads.

“You’ll be putting a wash on anyway; [LastPads] don’t take up that much space; you’re not going to wash them just them; it is with your other laundry; and if you wash them at a cold wash I think that the LCA report will look really good,” she suggests when we ask about the eco credentials.

“We’re doing this with all our products where we’re taking them through a third party who’s testing everything and putting them up against [alternatives] and having these considerations with CO2, with water, with chemicals — with the whole pack… So we’ll be doing that more specifically; right now… the alternative of a [disposable] pad — they are so differently produced. It’s crazy. So I could say the worst [for comparative purposes] or I could say the best — and ours is about 12x better than that.”

“When we got the LCA report for the LastTissue and LastSwab they were so much better than I have imagined,” she adds.

Regulatory Trends and the Circular Economy

The European Union has begun banning certain single-use plastic items, reflecting a broader effort to reduce plastic waste. Globally, regulators are seeking ways to minimize the environmental impact of consumer goods.

Developing reusable alternatives is crucial, as outright bans aren’t feasible for all essential products.

“The most sustainable pad that you can ever have is actually the one that you don’t produce but that would just be free bleeding — and I think that 99% of women are not ready for that,” adds Aagaard. “So can we make some solutions on some of the things that we actually have to take care of?”

Distribution and Future Product Development

LastObject will initially launch LastPad on Kickstarter and then expand distribution to existing retail channels, including Amazon and its own web shop.

The U.S. is currently LastObject’s primary market, driven by its Kickstarter community. However, the company is gaining traction in Europe through expanded distribution partnerships.

Looking ahead, Aagaard is exploring potential new product directions, particularly within the bathroom and personal care space. “We can keep going the beauty way, we can go more personal care but we have to also [not] go in too many directions. I personally have a lot of fun things I want to do in the bathroom still, because I feel like it’s a space where not a lot of designers have actually really been investigating some of the products that we’re using. Both in beauty but also in personal care. Like in the floss and toothbrush but also in diapers and wipes and all of that. So I think that there’s some innovation that could be really fun. But… this one took two years and I’m so happy about the result and I couldn’t have spent two months less on it. Then we wouldn’t have had the solutions that we’ve gotten to. So that feels very important.”

*Washable tissues are also of course not new. Indeed, Wikipedia credits the invention of pocket squares to wipe the nose to King Richard II of England who reigned in the 14th century. But the traditional (fabric) handkerchief — which was used, laundered and reused — became yet another casualty of the switch to single-use, disposable, cheap consumer goods that’s since been shown to have such high environmental costs. So perhaps reversing this damaging default will bring more ‘historical product innovation’ back into fashion as societies look to apply a modern ‘circular economy’ lens.