INTIMINA x PANTONE campaign - breaking the period stigma around the world

Interview with Marcella Zanchi, Marketing & Communications Manager UK at INTIMINA

Established in 2009, INTIMINA is Swedish brand complete line of products for women’s intimate well-being. With three care ranges – Menstrual Care, Pelvic Floor Strengthening, and Feminine Wellness – INTIMINA has products for women of all ages. Every product is made from the highest quality body-safe materials, and has been designed and tested with the support of a worldwide group of medical consultants and gynecologists.

As part of a new campaign by INTIMINA to make menstruation more visible and normalize this most normal of bodily functions, The Pantone Colour Institute has created Period—an original shade of red that represents a steady flow during menstruation.

The color Period is an energizing and dynamic red shade that serves as the banner for INTIMINA’s ‘Seen+Heard’ campaign, which is designed to empower and encourage everyone, regardless of gender, to have more accurate and honest conversations around menstruation. 

We talked to Marcella Zanchi, Marketing & Communications Manager UK at INTIMINA, about this campaign, how this collaboration came to life and what’s next for periods.

Marcella, how did the idea about collaboration with Pantone happen?

The idea came to us because we noticed that most ads and campaigns for period products portrait period blood in blue colour, or sometimes in red with glitter or they show a clean tampon. That has nothing to do with reality. Women may have different types of period colour, but the fact is period blood comes in various shades of red. To break taboos around the period and start the conversations around it, we have decided to team up with Pantone Color Institute to create a symbolic Period red colour that represents a steady flow during menstruation.

But breaking taboos is not enough when period poverty is still a big issue in many societies. That is why INTIMINA also donated to ActionAid, an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. 

What were you trying to achieve with it?

INTIMINA is on a quest of breaking the period stigma around the world. This campaign helps raise awareness and educate about menstruation, and what is most important, to define it as a normal bodily function and not something shameful. We want for the period to be perceived in society as something natural and something everyone should and could talk about without shame.

What are your goals in regards to sustainable menstrual products for this and next year?

The world trends show that women are searching for alternative menstrual products, those that are safe for the body and the environment. When it comes to menstrual cups, INTIMINA’s sales results show a constant increase over the past two years and reusable menstrual products are becoming more and more mainstream. This switch in menstrual product demand is a result of women becoming more educated on menstruation and menstrual products in general, and that is one of INTIMINA’s primary goals – education. Through educating people, we can not only motivate them to try sustainable period products and help protect the planet, but we can also help bring change to cultures where menstruation is something shameful. The stigma around menstruation is often the reason why women are not able to achieve their potential and escape poverty, and we want to change that.

(In the UK we participate in the Coalition of WEN and we also send menstrual products to the plastic-free period movement, so teachers can learn how to use them and educate children. We also support charities that are fighting against period poverty, such as Action Aid.)

How is INTIMINA contributing to sustainability in this space, with its sustainable menstrual products? 

It is estimated that each woman uses almost 17,000 tampons or pads during her lifetime. That is a lot of waste. We want people to know exactly how much waste they produce. That is why INTIMINA’ s will soon be launching a Period Waste Calculator - to raise awareness on how significant the switch to menstrual cups and other reusable period products can be for the environment.

It is enough to say that INTIMINA’s menstrual cups are made of medical-grade silicone and can last up to 10 years. Once thrown away, the silicone is converted back into inorganic, harmless ingredients, which do not affect our environment. 

What is one key message you would like to share with women who are looking into switching from traditional menstrual care products to sustainable ones such as cups?

Menstrual cups are safe for the body because they do not contain chemicals and can be worn for up to 12 hours. They are safe for the environment because they can last up to 10 years. They are also good for the wallet because one menstrual cup replaces hundreds of pads and tampons.

Join Women of Wearables for this free webinar, organised in partnership with INTIMINA, taking place on October 20, 6:30pm - 8pm BST!

*** We welcome all gender identities who have experience and/or a relationship with menstruation ***