| Throughout 2018 and 2019, 5 states in America passed legislation requiring middle schools and high schools to offer freely accessible menstrual products in the bathrooms. New York was the first state to require all schools to provide free tampons and pads in school bathrooms. California, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Tennessee quickly followed the lead. Nova Scotia and London, Ontario in Canada have both considered allocating funds to implement these basic necessities. |
With more movement in the industry, there has become an increase in demand for bulk menstrual products and menstrual product dispensers that do not operate with coins, but rather dispense products for free.
Both the product and the dispensers come at a cost to schools, thus the decision on which brand and dispenser to use is a critical choice.
We thought it would be beneficial to lay out all of the information in one place to do the comparison:
BULK TAMPON OPTIONS
| AUNT FLOW | TAMPAX/NATURELLE | |
| Ingredients | Organic cotton | Rayon, Synthetics, Bleached w/Chlorine |
| Biodegradable | Yes | Yes |
| Insertion | Smooth-Tip for Easy Insertion | “Muffin Top” resulting in uncomfortable insertion |
| Applicator | Cardboard | Cardboard |
| Absorbency | Regular | Regular |
| Certified, Woman-Owned | YES | NO |
| Compatible | ESTROGEN Aunt Flow® Dispenser | Hospeco Dispenser |
| Donations | For every 10 tampons sold, Aunt Flow donates one back to a menstruator in need | No reported donations per order placed |
BULK SANITARY PAD OPTIONS
| AUNT FLOW® | GUARD PADS | |
| Ingredients | Organic cotton | Rayon, Synthetics, Bleached w/Chlorine |
| Waste | Thin envelope | Thin envelope, cardboard box |
| Thickness | Thin | Very Thick |
| Wings | YES | NO |
| Rewetting (Can you feel your menstrual fluid?) | NO | YES |
| Certified, Woman-Owned | YES | NO |
| Compatible | ESTROGEN Aunt Flow® Dispenser | Hospeco Dispenser |
| Donations | For every 10 tampons sold, Aunt Flow donates one back to a menstruator in need | No reported donations per order placed |
FREE-VEND MENSTRUAL PRODUCT DISPENSERS
| ESTROGEN Aunt Flow® Dispenser | Converting a Coin Machine | Hospeco Evogen | |
| Capacity | 50 tampons / 50 pads | 20 tampons / 12 pads | 22 tampons / 16 pads |
| Reloading Time | Less than 20 seconds using Cartridges | 60+ seconds, reload piece-by-piece | 60+ seconds, reload piece-by-piece |
| Time Delay to Reduce Overuse | Mechanical | None | Electrical |
| Needs Batteries? | NO | NO | YES |
| Warranty? | Lifetime Warranty | None | None |
| Product Compatibility | Aunt Flow® Patent-Pending Cartridges | Tampax/Naturelle + Guard | Tampax/Naturelle + Guard |
| Installation | Included | Not Included | Not Included |
| General Cost | $300 | $25 piece + labor | $300-$800 + labor |
