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Imagine choosing between
food and staying clean during your period
Every month. Every January, Every February, Every March, Every April, Every May, Every June, Every July, Every August, Every September, Every October, Every November, Every December.
For a majority of women in the United States, it's not imagination. It's their reality.
17 million women
across the United States struggle with Period Poverty.
( and it's still growing )
Safe menstrual products.
Privacy to change menstrual products.
Safely wash oneself.
What is Period Poverty?
It's the inability to have consistent access to...
Victims of Period Poverty Use a Variety of Options to Manage Their Periods.
( fyi, most of them aren't healthy or safe )
01 | Buy them
Difficult due to repeatedly purchasing while on a limited budget and stigma restricting store access. Many wear menstrual products longer than the recommended duration to save money.
02 | Make them
From socks and plastic bags to repurposing pads into tampons, these methods increase the risk of gynecological infections. Thus, it’s critical to ensure affordable, hygienic menstrual care products are available.
03 | Steal them
Sometimes it’s the only choice due to high prices, urgent needs, and other challenges. The risk of public shame, infection, or soiling one's clothes is too great to avoid stealing.
04 | Find donations
Often lack the variety, sizing, or absorbency needed to meet their actual needs. Reported staff gatekeeping access or creating uncomfortable interactions. Women feel exposed when they have to disclose their menstrual status.
05 | Do nothing
Many end up having no choice but to bleed on themselves and their clothes. Compromising their health and affecting their appearance, leaving them with blood-stained clothes. This creates a catch-22 because the lack of menstrual care leads to visible challenges, like blood stains, which undermine their efforts to appear clean and not homeless, further stigmatizing their situation.
Did you know that up to 250,000 women
are dealing with period poverty while unhoused?
Menstrual products can be costly, particularly for those with extremely limited or fixed incomes, making homeless women especially vulnerable to the challenges of period poverty.
Current menstrual products aren't designed for victims of period poverty.
Especially the unhoused.
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“I used a rag that I found on the side of the road.
It was not the most sanitary but its all I had. Luckily, starvation made my periods pretty light."
Anonymous, 2025
"I've used a bunch of tissue until I could get any socks."
Anonymous, 2024
"And any chance I got I would stock up on pads and tampons and liners. Sometimes stealing them was a necessity because when you're forced to live like that, you do what you gotta do to feel even remotely human."
Anonymous, 2024
Menstrual products fall under two categories:
Disposables
Reusables
Too expensive to repeatedly purchase
Saves $$$ per year
Low maintenance - simple cleaning and care.
High maintenance - requires laundering, in most cases air drying for hours.
It seems like the best choice...why not use menstrual cups?
It's not that easy...
60%
of surveyed women prefer pads due to
n=24
Globally, menstrual pads are the most widely used menstrual product.
It needs more innovation.
Unfamiliarity With Use of Current Reusable Products
Pain and Discomfort with Internally Used Products
The gap in menstrual product innovation is not exclusive to victims of period poverty.
Across income levels, millions of women are searching for low-maintenance external menstrual product alternatives.
Which is where
comes in
After nearly a year of research, interviews, and testing, Off the Rag has designed a working prototype of an innovative menstrual pad to not only fill in the gap for low-maintenance external menstrual product alternatives but also alleviate period poverty and invite menstrual equity for all.
Due to incomplete intellectual property protection, only nonspecific details can be shared.
Reusable
Portable & Compact
Cleanable with up to 5oz of water
Holds up to 80ml of menstrual fluid
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