ohne
Nikki Michelsen and Leah Remfry-Peploe, co-founders of ohne
Smashing period taboos and creating a space which allows people who bleed to focus on their health and wellbeing during their menstrual cycle without shame or stigma, Nikki and Leah founded ohne after many wine-fuelled rants about the mainstream period product industry. With an understanding that every period is different, the founders of ohne emphasise the importance of managing your period to fit around your schedule, your body and your needs.
Offering a range of organic, toxin free period products to help manage your cycle, ohne's products are not only great for our health but also for the planet. Certified by the Soil Association and GOTS, ohne offers organic, biodegradable and plastic free tampons and pads. Taking a more holistic approach to managing those pesky period cramps, they also offer the CBD vegan chocolate Bliss Bar to uplift your mood and ease period pain!
I had the opportunity to catch up with Leah, one of the founders of ohne to talk all things periods, planet and wellbeing.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind ohne and the ethical values behind the brand?
We both were organic tampon users already, but we also both fit into the 69% of women that are always unprepared for their period when it comes! Unfortunately, this meant a lot of dashing to the shops, not being able to find organic tampons and having to use conventional ones instead. We realised that there must be a better way - we have a technological answer for almost anything we could ask for these days, so there’s really no reason shopping for your period products has to be harder than finding a date! We decided to launch our bespoke subscription service to address this issue - and to do it in a way that caters to as many different people who have periods as possible. Not every person who menstruates has a 5 day cycle that lasts exactly 28 days. Our service reflects this, as well as being cognizant of the fact that many people need a variety of absorbency types over the course of their period!
There are so many reasons contributing to why we started ohne, beginning with an ever-growing love for all things organic and our frustration at the way periods are still treated as such a shameful thing when they’re just a bloody fact of life (cheesy pun intended)… But the real lightbulb moment for us came when Nikki and I were hanging out at my house and talking about periods (as usual). We were complaining about how much we hated the designs of traditional period products, all flowery, pink, infantilizing designs that we just couldn’t relate to. Nikki pulled out a pad to illustrate her point and we were suddenly struck by just how much plastic was all over it. Not just in the wrapper, but the actual pad itself is quite obviously made of much more than just cotton. It bothered us so much that we started doing more in-depth research and discovered stats like the fact that your average sanitary pad contains the equivalent of four shopping bags worth of plastic. After we realised the period product company of our dreams (organic, environmentally conscious, no excessively girlish branding) simply didn’t exist, we just knew we had to build it ourselves.
What were your experiences with the mainstream period products that are currently available on the market and why was it important to create organic, natural and sustainable alternatives?
We’ve had all of the usual products growing up, with the hearts and the swirls, pink and purple packaging… without even realising how much plastic and chemicals were in them! For us it’s all about ensuring people who bleed have the best options possible for their bodies [and the planet!] so organic was such a no brainer for us.
Organic is a lot more in demand today than ever before. This is great because people are becoming more and more aware of the environmental and social impact of the products that they are using, consuming, and buying into.
We’d never judge anyone for choosing not to use organic tampons - but we think everyone has the right to know what is in the products they’re using so that they can make an informed decision. A big part of our mission at ohne is raising awareness about the lack of regulation in this industry!
What advice would you give to young female entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting their own ethical and socially responsible business?
Accept that it isn’t a smooth ride, and it’s ok to fail. We have had so many bumps in the road, and sometimes it can feel like it’s all too much - but keep going with it, believe in your journey and yourself, and understand that the highs feel even sweeter when you’ve been through the rollercoaster journey of being an entrepreneur!
Running a business is like being on a constant roller coaster of emotion and stress! In the spirit of total transparency, it's been a tough journey for us so far. We didn't come from high net worth backgrounds at all but our combined personality traits mean that we're blindly optimistic and incredibly persistent - something you have to be in the world of investment which is full of old white men who *generally* don't want to talk about periods! We're also passionate, incredibly passionate, and it's our passion that keeps us moving forward, combined with the amazing customer feedback we get that motivates us and reaffirms that what we're doing is creating real benefits. (Another high: working with your best friend every day is pretty great).
Ohne’s period products work for people and for the planet. Can you tell us more about the fantastic environmentally friendly alternatives that ohne offers and why switching to these products will benefit the planet?
Our main goal with sustainability at the moment is to make sure we're keeping up to date with the most eco-friendly packaging options out there. We currently use minimal packaging and all the tampon wrappings, boxes, and shipping bags are recyclable and/or biodegradable. At the moment, the only plastic in the entire company is the thin, hypo-allergenic wrap on the non-applicator tampons which, to date, there is no replacement for. But we're not gonna stop searching for a solution that will allow us to become the entirely plastic-free company of our dreams...so watch this space.
Our tampons and pads are 100% organic and biodegradable, with recycled, biodegradable, and recyclable packaging from the applicator to the delivery bags. We are also GOTS and Soil Association certified, so you can feel safe with us knowing that every single stage of our production is good for the planet.
Ohne is a fem space that empowers people to focus on their health and wellbeing when it comes to their menstrual cycle without shame or embarrassment. How do you think we can smash the period taboo and normalise the menstrual cycle?
We really believe opening conversations up around menstruating is all it will take to smash taboos. It’s so important that this starts in school, we are super passionate about talking to boys and girls about periods from a young age. So often boys and girls are separated to learn about puberty, with girls learning about periods and babies whilst boys learn about masturbation and wet dreams. It’s time to sync the two together, teaching boys about periods and girls about pleasure as well. We also really encourage everyone to understand that everyone’s cycle is different, and talking about your experiences with your period will really help to learn what’s normal for you, how to help with any issues you’re having, and realising that bleeding is so natural and normal that there’s no reason to feel ashamed!
Can you tell us more about ohne’s mission to help alleviate period poverty in the UK and in Zambia in collaboration with the Girls Programme run by School Club Zambia?
SCZ is a UK charity and Zambian NGO working with schools in rural Zambia to ensure that every child has access to the education they deserve. They focus on upskilling the children in the communities they work with to ensure that education is directly leading to job opportunities and skills that will be useful later in life. It also teaches girls and boys about puberty and periods, and helps to teach how to make reusable pads and also build toilet blocks in schools. Their work reaches almost 2,000 children per year.
The School Club Zambia are building brand new, clean toilet blocks in every school they work with, educating the students about menstruation, and equipping the girls with the skills they need to make their own reusable, sustainable sanitary pads from local resources.
We’re incredibly passionate about this aspect of our business. Nikki has personally worked with the organisation in Zambia and seen first-hand the incredible work that they do. Being able to support the community in an authentic, long-term way means a huge amount to us.
We believe that every person has the right to manage their period without shame and with dignity, which is why we’re committed to supporting efforts to eradicate period poverty in low-income areas.
What does the future hold for ohne?
We can’t say too much, but let’s just say 2021 is the biggest year for ohne ever. More products, growing our team, and creating a space for everyone. We can’t wait!
