Ordering and Postage Information
All orders will normally be dispatched within 2 weeks, but may take up to 4 weeks during busy times. I will communicate any delays as necessary. The exception is for in-stock and ready to post items which will normally be posted within 3-5 days.
Postage costs to UK addresses is a flat rate of £2 per order.
Returns and Refunds
Returns are not normally accepted on most products due for hygiene reasons. However, if you are unhappy with your purchase, please get in touch so that we can find a resolution. It is often easy to sell new and used items in the closed Facebook group.
Please remember that all items sold are handmade, and therefore may have minor flaws and inconsistencies that do not affect use.
This does not affect your statutory rights
Privacy Policy
Please read the privacy policy here.
Wholesale Orders
I happily accept wholesale orders of varying size. Please contact me to discuss, and for a wholesale price list.
Frequently Asked Questions
The world of reusables can be a bit of a minefield. These frequently asked questions and their answers will hopefully give you confidence in cloth menstrual pads and how to use them.
FAQ
Personal Benefits
Many women find that cloth pads are an empowering way of handling their period. The ability to choose what you wear in your knickers, buying from small businesses rather than multi-nationals, and defaulting from the 'norm' are all amazing reasons to switch to reusable menstrual pads.
There is much anecdotal evidence that reusables can help to reduce your flow. Don't bother looking for anything scientific on this - not because it isnt true, but because that sort of research is usually funded by huge businesses. Tampax and Always are not going to finance research into something that will destroy their profits so it may never happen. Talk to a group of reusable pad converts and they will probably verify that it happened to them though. It certainly has helped me!
Financial Benefits
Although the initial outlay of reusable pads seems quite large, carefully considered purchases can result in a long term saving of significance.
A pack of Always Night pads and a pack of Daytime pads costs approximately £5.50 - that's probably a conservative average outlay for a 'regular' menstuator per cycle. Multiply that by 13 for an annual expenditure of over £70. You could buy 10-12 reusable pads for that price which would last for many years. If you have a heavy flow, or use daily liners throughout the month the savings will grow even more!
Environmental Benefits
Every single disposable sanitary towel ever produced still exists in some form. The expected degradation time is 500 years and the oldest towels are only a third of the way through that duration. Now think about how many towels and tampons you have used in your life. And your friends, and the millions of other women around the world who are of menstruating age. Scary isn't it! Your great great great great grandchildren will be alive, and your disposable sanitary towels will still exist!
Once you've decided to make the switch to reusable menstrual pads, you then have the task of deciding what to buy! I hope you like shopping!
With a bit of browsing you will find that there are many many more options to pick through with reusables, compared to disposables. Absorbency, length, shape, width, fabrics, makers, core materials, backing - hopefully the following information will help to clarify things for you.
How do I choose a pad absorbency?
The marked absorbency of a reusable pad is at least that of an equally named disposable. If you buy Regular sposies, look at Regular reusables.
How do I choose a pad length?
If you use disposable towels, measure them and try reusables of the same length. If you don't use disposable towels, I tend to recommend starting with a 10" for a Regular and 12" for a Heavy. You will soon learn if you need to go for longer or shorter alternatives.
How do I choose a pad width?
Ngozi pads range in snapped width from 2.25" up to 3". The majority of users are most comfortable with 2.5" or 2.75" depending on body shape and preference. Wider pads are more effective at handling a heavier flow. As a norm. I make pads for stock up to 9" at 2.5" width, and 10"+ at 2.75". That's a reflection of the most popular choices by my customers. You will work out what is best for you only through trial and error.
Whats the difference between shapes?
Different makers of reusable pads offer many different shapes and styles. That's a reflection of the variety of shapes and sizes of the women and girls who use them. At Ngozi I offer two main shapes, LInear and Contour. Linear is fairly angular, slim fitting, and with minimal flare. Contour is more full bodied, curvy, and has a greater surface area for catching menstrual blood.
How many pads do I need?
Depending on the heaviness and duration of your period, and how often you want to launder your pads, 12-16 is a good ballpark figure for a small stash.
How long should a pad last when you wear it?
Again depending on your period, and you personal preference you may want to change your pad every couple of hours, when you go to the toilet, or less frequently. Generally speaking, 3-4 hours is a good ballpark.
For how many years will a pad last?
You should expect a reasonably well made pad to last from 3-5 years up to potentially 10 years. Obviously it largely depends on how often you use a pad - a liner in a small stash that is used once or twice a week will not last as long as a pad that is worn and washed once a month.
Everyone has a different experience of lochia (postpartum bleed), but lots of women report a week or so of very heavy bleeding, followed by up to a month of regular/light bleed. You don't need 'special' postpartum pads after birth - normal menstrual pads will do the job.
If you are on a tight budget, I do not recommend buying reusables for the first week or so postpartum. Heavy and Ultra pads are pricey, and you need to spend alot of money and effort to ensure you don't need to wash your pads everyday. You would be totally forgiven for using disposables for the worst part of the bleeding to save yourself cash and hassle when you have a new family member to look after. Alternatively, if money really is tight but you can't bear the idea of disposables, consider preloved pads and sell them on after you have finished with them. Obviously if you use heavy and ultra heavy pads during your menstrual cycle, you may have sufficient pads in your stash already.
I offer two different postpartum bundles with cost-saving prices. Check them out: Mini Bundle and Maxi Bundle
Alternatively you could just buy individual pads from the custom or ready to post sections.
There are many different fabrics used in the production of reusable menstrual pads.
Ngozi Sews pads are made from the following:
Top Layer
Cotton-Lycra Jersey
100% Woven Cotton
Cotton-Lycra French Terry
Bamboo Velour
Cotton Velour
Pad Core
Organic Cotton and Bamboo Fleece
Cotton Flannel
Zorb 2 DImples
Bottom / Back Layer
Cotton Needlecord
PUL (Polyurethane Laminate)
Polar Fleece
Waterproof Softshell
Earthkind pads are a new breed of menstrual pad, where none of the materials used contain any plastic.
At a time where the mass population is more accepting of the damage we are doing to the planet with excessive plastic use, naturally, many users of cloth pads want to avoid the use of synthetic materials that shed microfibres into our waterways and ultimately the ocean. Earthkind reusable menstrual pads satisfy this need.
Made with mostly organic cotton and hemp, Earthkind do not have a synthetic water repellent layer but a natural one. A special technical organic cotton which is woven in a way that is naturally repellent. It is this unique addition that makes it possible for Earthkind pads to be as slim and discreet as standard Ngozi pads.
Unfortunately, there is a need for polyester thread in the construction of Earthkind pads - all of the cotton alternatives that I have tested so far are not up to the required standard. I'm working on it though! Pads also have a satin label - let me know if you do not want a label on your pad.
Shop for Earthkind Reusable Menstrual Pads
There are two different ways to handle your used menstrual pads: wet store, or dry store.
Wet Store
Once you have removed and replaced your used pad, rinse it well under the tap until the water runs clear. Wring out the pad and put it in a wetbag. Continue to do the same with other pads for a couple of days.
Launder in the washing machine (at 30 or 40 degrees) after 2-3 days. You can add to a regular load or run a separate wash just for your pads. Make sure you DO NOT use fabric conditioner, and use powder rather than liquid if possible.
If your pads are susceptible to stains, apply a stain remover before washing. I recommend using a natural stain remover such as the one available at Saponistas Artisan Soaps
Dry Store
Instead of rinsing your pads before adding to the wetbag of used pads, just remove, roll up and stash in the bag as-is. Make sure the wetbag is mostly closed but slightly ventilated.
You can leave your used pads in dry-state for the duration of your period. When you are ready, empty the contents of the wetbag into the washing machine, ensuring that all pads are open - not snapped closed. Run a rinse cycle.
After your pads have been rinsed, check for stains and treat if required. Return to the machine and wash as per the above guidelines.
Drying
I recommend that you hang your pads to dry. An 'octopus' dryer from Ikea or Wilko's is a brilliant way of hanging lots of pads in a small space.
If you need to tumble dry your pads, please do so for only a short time on a cool tumble.
NOTE: Washing your pads at more than 40 degrees, or drying on a hot cycle in the tumble dryer may cause your pads to shrink, distort, and degrade more quickly.
These are some of the most common issues and queries from new wearers of reusable menstrual pads:
"My pads move when I wear them!"
If your pads are moving forward and back, it may be that you need longer pads than you initially thought. Longer pads tend to have a greater flare, which wraps around your thighs slightly and holds the pad in place. You may also find that the snapped width of the pad is incorrect for your underwear. When snapped, your pad should be snug around the gusset of your knickers. "I leak all the way at the front (or back) of the pad" You definitely need a longer pad. You may also want to go up an absorbency level too. "I leak into the wings of the pad" If it is the case that your blood is spreading into the wings of your pad, but not through the length of the pad, then you do not have enough absorbent core where you need it. Ask for a 'centre boosted' pad, or try a wider snapped width. If the problem persists, you may find you have more success with exposed core pads."I leak off the side of the pad where the wings meet the body" You may have this issue if you are a 'front bleeder' or 'back bleeder'. Try adjusting the pad in your underwear so that the pad is wider at your 'bleed point'. You will also benefit from a wider pad, a 'front/back boosted' pad, or the next absorbency level. "I leaked through the core of the bad onto my underwear" All pads are backed in either a water resistant or waterproof layer to prevent leaks. However, if a pad is saturated it will fail - there is no avoiding that. If you bleed through your pad, then you either had a heavier flow than the pad can contain, or you needed to change your pad sooner. Don't worry - it happens to the best of us! "Which side of the pad goes face-up?" Always, with Ngozi pads, the pad should be worn pretty-side up. In the event that you have a solid coloured topper fabric, it'll be the side with the most stitching. The label is always attached on the back.