Vegan Period Underwear – Modibodi Review
Australian brand Modibodi have long been a favourite of mine, so I was delighted to hear that they have launched a full range of vegan period underwear, swimwear and activewear.
If you haven’t heard of it before, period underwear is a revolutionary concept to keep sanitary items out of landfill and offer an alternative to the current unsustainable options available to women. Designed to replace the need for single use tampons and pads (which are generally full of plastic and chemicals and end up in landfill or in our oceans and beaches) period underwear is reuseable, sustainable and now cruelty-free.
Back in 2011 the founder of Modibodi designed and created the patented Modifier Technology™ leak-proof undies, which combine three layers of protection for all different kinds of flow. Unfortuanately up until now the technology included the use of Merino Wool with no alternatives.
Sheep are incredibly intelligent, gentle beings who are treated like wool-making machines due to our current social demand for their fleece. In Australia, where over 50% of global Merino wool originates, the welfare of sheep on farms is extremely low. A practise call ‘Mulesing‘ is widespread (and somehow still legal) where huge chunks of flesh are cut off without anaesthetic or pain relief. ‘Surplus’ and unwanted sheep from the industry are sold to the Middle East and subjected to the horrors of live export, all beacuse of our need for bedding, carpets and clothing which now have exceptional quality alternatives. Thankfully Modibodi have now adopted these alternatives into their products, and use bamboo and man-made materials for their vegan period underwear range.
I first discovered Modibodi a few years ago after the birth of our first son (and the beginnings of the end of my pelvic floor!) after a friend recommended their activewear for extra protection while exercising. My first pair lasted for 3 years before being retired, and since I had gone vegan in this time I was unwilling to replace them until there was a cruelty-free alternative. I was so pleased to hear that Modibodi had released a vegan version, and couldn’t wait to find out how they performed.
I received two pairs of the ‘Vegan Bikini’, one light-moderate absorbency and one heavy/overnight pair. I loved the packaging to start with – no plastic to be seen with minimal waste and labelling. The quality of the material felt great and really soft to touch, and I was surprised how lightweight they felt. One of my concerns, especially for the overnight pair, was that they would feel bulky and heavy, but they are actually super thin being only 3mm thick and the packaging told me they can hold up to 20ml of fluid.
Both pairs were really comfortable and gave full protection even overnight. They are super-simple to care for as well, they just need a rinse in cold water then a machine wash on a cold setting (doesn’t have to be done immediately) then line dry. Fabric softener and dryers are a no-no as they can reduce the absorbency of the material. I found that they took a little while to line dry so 2 pairs wasn’t enough, but Modibodi have a 7 day vegan period underwear mixed pack which would be perfect for the whole cycle.
The only negatives that I could find is that there isn’t yet much choice in the Vegan Collection – I’d love to see more colours, patterns and styles introduced. My only other criticism would be that the entire range isn’t yet vegan – I can’t fault the comfort, design or efficacy of the undies so it would be great to see Modibodi phase animal products out completely.
Thanks to Modibodi for supplying the vegan period underwear for this review.
You can find the full range of vegan period underwear here
Are you a vegan parent too? Connect with us and share your story over at The Everyday Vegan Mum podcast.
