Our Response to the COVID-19 Induced Menstrual Pad Crisis
One EFD Dress = 10 Menstrual Pads for School Girls
As EllieFunDay continues to face the challenges of running a small business in a global pandemic, I have been striving to live out our mission of empowerment. When we started talking to our partner non-profit in India we discovered that since their lockdown, schoolgirls have not been able to receive menstrual products. Many young girls don't have the financial means to purchase basic hygiene products like menstrual pads. I was shocked especially by this statistic: 85% of girls are not able to have access to basic hygienic needs during the lockdown. As I started to dig further into the issue, it was astounding. The coronavirus has sparked a menstrual pad crisis. Only 36% of its 355 million menstruating females use napkins (the remaining use old cloth, rags, husk or ash to manage the flow) and nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually after they start their periods.
We decided to start a collaborative initiative. Our partner sewing unit has already started prototyping many reusable pads using our organic cotton batting, flannel and remnant materials. After a lot of testing, they finally settled upon a sustainable design that would work best for the schoolgirls and women. This consisted of a liner and an attachable pad that they could wash after each use. I'm incredibly proud of them as this was an initiative that they've R&D entirely on their own. When given the opportunity, amazing things are achieved by these artisans.
In order to magnify their efforts, we are doing a small capsule collection to help make more of these reusable pads available for school girls. For every linen dress you buy as part of our Linen Collection, we will donate 10 reusable menstrual pads to school girls in need.
Linen Maxi Dress
Our most popular summer maxi dresses are one size fits most. With an adjustable neck tie, this linen dress is incredibly versatile! Pockets as always are a must of course, so I created nice big ones to carry your essentials!
Linen Tunic Dress
Our new linen tunic dress is a brand new style, in fact, it's my personal favorite. This dress comes in 3 sizes: small, medium and large, and is perfect for lounging and casual social distancing. I really love the unique back tie detail and pockets, setting it apart for just your standard dress!
I'd also love to share with you the background regarding the production of this capsule collection. Due to current challenges of COVID-19, supply chains have been extremely stressed; there have been delays in shipments and many last-minute shutdowns. We have decided to work with a family-run manufacturer right here in sunny California to make these dresses for us. We are trying something a little bit different by running a pre-sale. Your dress will be made to order with a lead time of approximately 2-3 weeks from your order date. This will help us predict the demand and also create responsibly and sustainably.
Thank you so much for supporting us during these unprecedented times. We love our tribe and are ever grateful for each and every one of you!
Word on sizing:
One Size: Please review the measurements for each of the dresses. These are flat measurements so please double them if you need the circumference. We have tried these maxi dresses on multiple body types and feel like they are quite generous to accommodate most sizes.
Small / Medium / Large Sizes: Please measure your own body with a measuring tape to ensure fit at all the points of measure. We will happily answer any questions you may have.
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