Riley was started by Áine Kilkenny, Fiona Parfrey and Lauren Duggan.

3 friends fighting period plastic

By Katie O'Keeffe

Three friends based in West Cork have set out to change the products Irish women use one period at a time.

One in five plastics found in our oceans are from period products and these products can take anywhere from 500-1000 years to decompose.

Riley was started by the all female team of Áine Kilkenny, Fiona Parfrey and Lauren Duggan to help this plastic problem.

During lockdown, over a glass of wine, the girls found themselves in a conversation about the period product industry.

They realised that a change was needed and no one was going to change things for them. They were going to have to do it for themselves.

Speaking to the Cork Independent Co-Founder Áine explained how they believed they needed to help make a change: “Our research at the beginning led us down a really shocking path. We would just pick up tampons or pads in the shop and not think anything of it. We did not realise what we were actually putting in to our bodies and what these products were doing to the environment.”

She added: “We weren’t aware as three women in our early 30s of the amount of plastic used in products so it is part of Riley’s mission to open up the conversation about period plastic.”

The average sanitary pad has a plastic content of 90 per cent. Riley's products, are made from 100 per cent GOTS certified organic cotton and can take around 12 months to decompose when properly disposed of.

Áine said that all of their products are free from chemicals and toxins, while the tampon applicators are made from bio-based sugar cane.

As well as fighting the plastic issue with products the team also committed to helping the fight against period poverty.

Riley is working with the Irish registered charity Development Pamoja. For each box sold, €1 will be donated which will help to sponsor a menstruation education programme in ten local schools and supplying sanitary products offering 1,000 young girls’ access to basic sanitary products, as well as stocking Development Pamoja’s medical clinics.

One of the co-founders Fiona witnessed the struggle in Kenya when she spent time in 2019 volunteering with the charity.

Áine explained: “Girls are missing out on their education because they don’t have the products they need, we want to make a difference for these girls if we can.”

The subscription service delivers eco-friendly period products through your letter box on a monthly or quarterly basis and be ordered on the online store with orders shipped throughout Europe from the base in West Cork.

In the coming months, Áine, Fiona, and Lauren plan to expand their product offering and create jobs in Ireland as they scale up.