According to Femtech Insider, 300 million people menstruate every day, and about 90% of period products are disposable, leading to massive amounts of pollution. Vyld’s tampons, dubbed Kelpon, do not require fertilizers, pesticides, or drinkable water to produce. The seaweed also grows ten times faster than cotton and sequesters more carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
“Algae are already used in over 70% of all processed foods due to their many beneficial features,” Vyld Co-founder Ines Schiller recently told the publication. “We want to use these amazing unique advantages for period products where they will really make a difference. This way we can offer the menstruators a unique solution that combines product performance and true sustainability.”
In March, Vyld raised pre-seed funding from impact fund The Case for Her, Purpose Ventures and several others. Its recently launched crowdfunding effort on StartNext aims to raise €100,000 ($99,300) to finalize prototype and scale up production.