“Women in our culture don’t want to talk about their periods — most still think about it as crass and disgusting ,” Agrawal told Forbes

THINX is the invention of three female entrepreneurs, Antonia Dunbar, Miki Agrawal and Radha Agrawal. By rethinking feminine hygiene products to provide support, comfort, confidence, and peace of mind, they aim to eliminate shame, empowering women and girls around the world through their product.

Girls in rural Uganda miss up to eight days of study each school term because they are on their periods, a study of menstrual management in Uganda found. This was due to lack of washrooms, lack of sanitary pads and bullying by peers, focus groups with 12 to 17 year olds in 20 primary schools in five districts revealed.

Not only are these girls dealing with a lack of materials, they are also stigmatised by cultural attitudes that regard menstruating women and girls as dirty. Many girls grow up dreading their period because of the social stigma associated with menstruation, as well as the lack of services and facilities to help them.

So for every pair of THINX purchased, the company will also donate a reusable menstrual pad to women in Uganda through the non-profit organization AFRIpads ( a social business in Uganda that manufactures and sells cost-effective cloth sanitary pads.)

On the environmental front, Agrawal says THINX panties can eliminate the landfill waste generated by traditional feminine products.