"Game Changer" Period Underwear by Tree Hugger Cloth Pads
We at Tree Hugger Coth Pads could not be more excited to introduce you to our brand new "Game Changer" Period Underwear! We spent an entire year designing the perfect period underwear!
I (Crystal) put just as much detail into designing this underwear as I did when designing our original Tree Hugger Cloth Pads. I would never sell anything that I don't truly love myself (and wouldn't love to use myself!) and this is no exception. This is why it took us so long to design them and release them to you.
What makes these "period panties" so special? Let's start with a few of the features.
I tried many options already commercially available (both underwear for periods as well as just regular underwear). Some options I liked more than others but none were the perfect fit for ME. Some fit great but they came with other drawbacks. Getting both a good fit AND function was my goal which led me to design my own period underwear.
We tested commonly available underwear as well as our early prototypes right on our kitchen counter. We poured water on them and watched. Over...and over...and over again. The main weakness of them all became obvious: the weak point of every brand of period underwear I tried (including our prototypes up until then) was the stitching in the gusset. The thread goes through little holes that also let fluid through. This would wick through the stitching making the outside of the underwear wet. The solution? Don’t sew through the crotch! The core is attached at the front and the back eliminating that weakness.
The next big challenge for us was the underwear fabric choices.
We always knew that Zorb is a superior absorbent fabric so that had to be in the middle of the core of our underwear just like our pads.
For the main shell of the underwear itself, I was not a fan of many of the panties out there that were made of Nylon and Spandex as they are not breathable and often make a person very sweaty. We tested line-ups of fabric swatches on our kitchen table to test both feel and water wicking qualities (including using a stopwatch!) for just the right balance. We ultimately chose a high-quality Bamboo/Cotton fabric because it's super soft, long-lasting and it's not sweaty! With the fabric being 66% Bamboo (which is sustainable) it is soft while still being machine washable and dryer safe (which many of the currently available period underwear is not).
Our waterproof fabric is not the commonly used PUL which, while inexpensive, can lose its waterproof-ness over time as it can de-laminate. PUL de-laminating is not something you want when you are trying to prevent blood from getting on your pants! We found that a lightweight Dintex Interlock as our waterproof layer is so much better and nothing is getting through that!
For the inner layer against your skin, we chose an athletic wicking fabric that quickly sucks the moisture in and away from your skin into the core inside keeping you feeling dry.
A few other things that I was looking for in a good fitting and functioning period underwear that we added to ours were a nice wide waistband, not a fan of skinny little elastic, no leg elastic which I always find too tight, and nice bum coverage. I wanted an all-in-one design (my days of stuffing inserts into pads/diapers are over) and I wanted them to be trim.
One of the best advantages of period underwear over wearing pads is how discreet they can look under your pants. Our underwear is perfect for working out in and also great for teens who don't like how bulky pads can be.
We have started off with a mid-rise brief good for moderate flow with hopeful plans for one day adding other styles but we had to start somewhere. We are also starting with the sizes XS-XXXL with the hopes to add to the size range as well one day. True to Size, order your regular underwear size.
Possibly the most important quality of these Game Changer Period Underwear is that they are not only designed in Canada but are MADE IN CANADA! Right here in Winnipeg, Manitoba to be exact. Industry-wide underwear is almost always manufactured overseas but that is against what we stand for. We offer good-paying, flexible jobs for women (and men) local to us. It's important to us and I hope it is to you as well.
