The sustainable tampon brand that’s helping to fight period poverty in Ireland

Jette Virdi started ilolove.com four months ago and the company is changing the world one tampon at a time.

Ilo was launched back in March on International Women’s Day and people have been singing the praises of the sustainable tampon brand.

"Within four months of launching a self-funded new business, we are up to 100 subscribers a month and are stocked in four different shops around the world".

Ilo is a 100 percent organic, 100 percent biodegradable and 100 percent non-toxic sanitary product company. In light of the sustainability movement happening right now, these tampons mean you're doing your bit for the environment. Jette’s inspiration for her company was to “create a better world” for her now 16-month-old daughter to grow up in. When Molly was born, Jette was excited but also scared at the prospect of bringing up a girl in the world we are living in.

"I had one of those moments where I was like, having a girl today, it’s really scary and teaching a girl she can do everything, but she has to be conscious as well and that’s a really hard balance".

Jette stands by living sustainably in every way she can and even before she started the company, this was always extremely important to her.

“In my former life I owned a boutique hotel in Mexico we were 100 percent solar powered, and we recycled everything. I wanted to show people you can live sustainably".

Ilo was designed by Jette because she wanted women to educate themselves on their personal menstrual cycle.

"A big part of the company's ethos is that we want to teach you about your menstrual cycle and we want to teach you how to use it in your everyday life".

50 percent of the net profits from the company go to not-for-profit charities in Ireland.

"I was very clear on my morals and the ethos of the company and I wasn’t really willing to change those and one is that it’s truly important that we are environmentally- friendly. Personally, it's really important that the company gives back to the community". "That’s why we donate our net profits to charity, we are totally transparent".

You can buy a box of tampons or sanitary pads on the website ilolove.com or you can sign up for a monthly subscription which arrives every month.

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During May, Her will be doing some more #ConsciousBits. Over the month, we'll be learning how to re-use more than we buy, examining the sheer amount of waste the planet produces, and considering the many, many benefits of sustainable fashion choices.  We'll also be chatting to some people who have made sustainability a priority, while setting ourselves a few environmentally conscious challenges along the way.  Change is daunting and we're not perfect, but we can always try to do our bit. Our conscious bit.  You can follow the rest of the #ConsciousBits series here or follow our Instagram account for more related content.