Real Relief

Yesterday, our Managing Director, Trine Angeline Sig , visited at UN City in Copenhagen. 💙

UNFPA previously supported a pilot project in conflict-affected areas of Myanmar. Through the project, 39 local women were trained and produced 3,600 antimicrobial reusable pads, reaching 900 women and girls.

The project combined access to menstrual products with local employment, training and dignity and showing how menstrual health solutions can also strengthen women’s livelihoods and communities.

This is why we believe so strongly in local production and technology transfer. A menstrual pad can be much more than a product: it can create knowledge, income, confidence and lasting change.

Read more about the project here:
https://myanmar.unfpa.org/en/news/empowering-local-women-and-safeguarding-their-livelihood-through-innovative-project-menstrual

We are pleased to share an update on the important work and achievements in Tanzania, led by our colleague Severine and the local Safepad team.

Safepad has now officially been introduced on Pemba Island through the SAFSHA Pemba Project, funded by UNICEF and implemented by Oikos East Africa, SAWA and the North Pemba Region.

Building on the experience gained from the market-based menstrual health model previously implemented in Manyara, the project is working to establish a sustainable supply chain for quality reusable menstrual pads. The model combines menstrual health education, local entrepreneurship and community-based distribution to improve access, availability and affordability.

Important progress has already been made:

20 female entrepreneur-distributors have been trained and supported.
Community health workers have received training in menstrual health and hygiene, product promotion and basic business management.
Distribution outlets have been established in two of the 10 targeted secondary schools.
Access is being expanded through health facilities, shops, pharmacies and community distribution networks.
One super-dealer has been engaged to support wider distribution.
Awareness meetings have been held with school committees to strengthen access to quality reusable menstrual products in schools and surrounding communities.

The current sales agents are community health workers from Wete and Micheweni districts in North Pemba. They have shown great enthusiasm for developing the initiative into a sustainable local business.

The agents have also received practical tools to support their work, including branded umbrellas, T-shirts, caps, flyers, posters, start-up kits, demonstration products, and sales and purchasing record books.

Local knowledge and cultural practices are central to the model. According to feedback from the communities, washing menstrual materials is already familiar in many households. This may help support acceptance and correct use of quality reusable products when accompanied by appropriate education and guidance.

The next step is to strengthen the school outlets and wider distribution network, monitor sales and repayment performance, and assess how the model can be expanded across both North and South Pemba.

We are proud of the progress made by Severine, the local Safepad team and all the partners involved. Their work demonstrates how strong local partnerships and women-led distribution can create more sustainable access to menstrual products while also supporting entrepreneurship and community health.

🌍 Help us bring an end to the 800-year pad problem.

A disposable pad is used for hours, but its plastic can remain in the environment for centuries.

Real Relief has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to bring Gopad, our new disposable pad made with biotransformation technology, to market. 💚

🌿 WHY IT MATTERS

Conventional pads contribute to plastic waste in landfills, waterways and on beaches, where plastic can break into microplastics. Reliable period care and reducing waste should go hand in hand.

💚 MEET GOPAD

Gopad is designed to offer familiar comfort and protection, with technology designed to transform its plastic into an earth-friendly wax in as little as two years under suitable environmental conditions. This process depends on exposure to sun, water, air and heat.

🤝 WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

Real Relief is a small company with a big goal: reaching women and girls worldwide, including communities with limited or non-existent waste management systems.

Your pledge supports three key milestones:
• User-experience testing
• Finalising sustainable packaging
• Completing regulatory approvals to reach more markets

📣 HOW TO HELP

1. BACK GOPAD
Explore our campaign and available rewards. Every contribution helps:
https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/real-relief/gopad-crowdfunding-campaign

2. SHARE THE CAMPAIGN
Share this post, tag a friend or send it to someone who cares about menstrual health or plastic waste.

3. FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS
Follow our page for campaign updates, milestones and ways to get involved.

We’ve spent years developing Gopad. Your support can help bring it to the women and girls we hope to reach.

Thank you for being part of the journey.
— The Real Relief team 💚

Emergency relief items available for immediate supply

Real Relief currently has essential humanitarian relief items in stock and ready for rapid mobilisation.

We can support humanitarian organisations with individual relief items, complete kits and consolidated procurement according to programme requirements.

If your organisation is responding to the floods in Nepal—or preparing for another emergency—please contact us for specifications, available quantities, pricing and indicative delivery timelines.

Learn more: www.realreliefway.com

Last week, Real Relief participated in in Middelfart, where we spoke with many curious and engaged visitors.

We were especially inspired by the young people who wanted to learn more about menstrual health— nd how new technology can help create more sustainable solutions in this space.

One of these solutions is Gopad™: a disposable menstrual pad using biotransformation technology designed to reduce the long-term persistence of plastic components if they escape into the open environment.

Curious to learn how the technology works? Follow our page or explore Gopad RealRelief here:

https://www.realreliefway.com/products/gopad

You can also learn more about our Gopad™ dispensers, which can be easily installed in toilets at schools, workplaces and public facilities - making pads available when they are needed.

Because access to menstrual products should be simple, discreet and reliable.

🌱 Mød Real Relief på Klimafolkemødet

Du kan finde os på Klimafolkemødet i Middelfart torsdag og fredag i denne uge.

Kom forbi, sig hej og hør mere om Gopad™ – verdens første engangsbind udviklet med biotransformationsteknologi og et nyt bud på, hvordan menstruationsprodukter kan gentænkes med fokus på både mennesker og miljø.

Vi glæder os til gode samtaler om innovation, menstruationssundhed og mere bæredygtige løsninger 💚

Læs mere om Klimafolkemødet.

Yesterday, our CEO, Trine Angeline Sig, had the pleasure of presenting Real Relief’s work to an inspiring group of women from Inner Wheel Fredericia.

The members already support girls and women in Kenya by helping provide access to Safepad at Zeal Covenant School, located in Nairobi’s Kawangware community.

During her presentation, Trine spoke about our technology-transfer projects. Today, Safepad is produced in eight countries outside India -an achievement of which we are immensely proud. Local production helps empower women, build skills and capacity, create employment and support sustainable development.

We are deeply grateful to Inner Wheel Fredericia for their trust, dedication and continued efforts to ensure that more girls can manage their periods safely and with dignity.

Thank you for being part of the Safepad journey 💜

At Real Relief, we are pleased to support this important initiative led by Leisa Hirtz and The Red Tent Shop.

Bringing together menstrual-health education, sustainable products, local knowledge and viable business models is essential to creating lasting access and impact.

We look forward to contributing our experience with Safepad and working with committed partners to build sustainable menstrual-health solutions in Uganda and beyond.

Good decisions start with good evidence.

We believe sustainability should be measured - not assumed.

That's why we invested in a scientific Life Cycle Assessment and we are happy to share it with you as well.

Every step towards better menstrual health should also move us towards a healthier planet.