WRITTEN BY MIRANDA REYES PHOTOGRAPHY BY ISHAH SHAH
It’s not news that periods and menstruation often feel like taboo topics, and that’s only in conversation. The experience itself can come with shame, embarrassment, and secrecy. Despite it being a very normal bodily process of half the world’s population, menstruation is still heavily stigmatized around the globe. But the conversation is changing. By celebrating empowerment and encouraging menstrual health education, the way we talk about periods is radically shifting. Devoted to shattering the period stigma is 21-year-old SAGE MELLET, co-founder of Peach Pack, a subscription box service with menstrual empowerment at its core. “I think generally there has been an increase in conversation, specifically in the online realm. However, when I speak to young people experiencing their period for the first time, there is still sense of embarrassment and shame. I hope that by having more period pages on Instagram and more brands — like Peach Pack — it’ll enable us to take ownership over our periods and have more open and honest discussions.” The idea for the subscription box came to be when Mellet and best friend Alyssa Carp — later Mellet’s business partner and Peach Pack co-founder — were out for coffee with a friend. The topic of subscription-based businesses came up in conversation. “Being best friends and proud feminists, we always spoke about our periods and how insane it was that we felt like we couldn’t openly talk about these natural bodily processes. Combining our passion for breaking stigmas and the idea of subscription businesses, we thought, ‘Why not create a subscription pack that makes our time of the month more convenient whilst breaking stigmas at the same time?’” Every Peach Pack is made of sustainable, biodegradable material. The subscriber chooses between tampons or pads — both from all-organic brands — and the box is accompanied by delicious tea and a mystery self-care item. Mellet admits that the process of putting together subscription boxes is something she’s still trying to figure out today.
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