Saalt Impact Report 2023

2023 Impact Report

Thank you.

Thank you.

Why have we been using the

absorb up to 6 pads of flow and

same disposable products for

lasts up to several years, replacing

the past 100 years that most

hundreds of pads.

people can’t access? That was

2020 was an unprecedented year. From wild

the question we asked ourselves

Australiathis andisour Pacific Northwest to a pan Friends, why single-use

in 2018 when we launched Saalt

products most of the world circumstan ability to that adjust to ever-changing

living across the globe, this year has taught

with the dream of ending global

Gates Foundation reported that in just 25 w can’t access and that generate

period poverty.

200,000 metric tons ofhit waste years.” That regression hardest for our ov

from poverty alleviation to women’s equality

the social and economicsolution. toll of the pandemi annually are a band-aid

in domestic violence, teen pregnancy, and re

Sixty-two percent of the

The answer to ending period for true women and girls.

menstruating world lacks basic

poverty is in long-lasting, reusable

access to safe and reliable period

products. current events? You keep to your mission to

care, causing girls to drop out of school and hindering economic progress for women. Though well intended, too many organizations and aid groups have tackled the issue through donations of singleuse disposable products.

Here’s the problem. One box of

How do you move forward with optimism in

and adapt. We started 2020 with plans to fu around the globe and travel to support inter Inplans 2023, we’reshifted thrilledtotorespond to the most quickly ing wildfire containment and advocates for r announce that we hit the biggest period care to active duty military members firefighters, providers workin milestone in and our health impactcare program and lives. We donated over 12,000 menstrua history: 100,000 Saaltreproductive products health cla 34 countries, moved over 11,000 days of school for girls in need. W donated in 50 countries! to create high-quality antibacterial masks fo hygiene needs who helped distribute them t often you, at theSaalt highest risk because Thank community, for of the lack both PPE and healthcare.

joining your hearts and passion

pads donated to a girl covers

Eachours success wasus enabled with to help reach and this magnified by

her for one period cycle. One

momentous underservedmilestone. communities around the world

menstrual cup, in contrast, covers her for up to 10 years. (And stress

who reached out to help identify needs and Our deepest thanks,

Onward!

tests have shown our premium silicone Saalt Cups can actually last 4 times longer.) One pair of 1

Saalt period underwear can also

Cherie Hoeger CEO & Impact Director

Cherie Hoeger | CEO & Impact Director

Danielle Burden Corporate Resp

Contents

1 3 5 7

Letter from our CEO

2023 Impact Overview

Our Ethos Our Method Our Impact Pillars

Saalt’s Global Partnerships

9 19

29 35

Menstrual Health Venezuela Donation Kurdish Refugee Relief Foundation Lahaina Donation The Flow

Education Her International Style Her Empowered (SHE) TabuTabu Honduras Child Alliance Karat School Project

Sustainability Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i rePurpose Global

Support & Initiatives Tampon Tax Back Saalt Travel Kit Faces of Hope

Cover photograph by Kurandza. Photography contributed by Julie Gascon, DROTY, Alonso Garcia, Kurdish Refugee Relief Foundation, Alani Calip, The Flow, WISER, TabuTabu, Karat School Project, rePurpose Gobal, Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i, Jurada Studio, Faces of Hope. Designed by Alani Calip. Written by Payton McGriff and Rachel Axtman.

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Here’s What We Accomplished Together in 2023:

48,693

106,619

Saalt Products Donated

Periods Served

271,800

94,243

Days of School Funded

Pounds of Cleanup Funded

5,251,136

397,871

Waste Diverted

Plastic Water Bottles Repurposed 4

Our Ethos At Saalt, we believe that people empowered to live their best lives can change the world.

Saalt commits 2% of our revenue to donate period care to areas with the most need and help fund initiatives in education, empowerment, and sustainability.

Our Method Empower and equip.

These are ambitious words that encapsulate a holistic strategy to improve menstrual health on a greater level than just donating products. We do this by training in-country staff to ensure menstrual health and hygiene education and mentorship are offered with every product donation, both to those receiving our products and their communities.

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Our Impact Pillars Through our impact pillars, we seek to use our funds in the most mindful way to create lasting change.

MENSTRUAL HEALTH Everyone should have the right to a safe and dignified period. We empower individuals with knowledge and long-term solutions to improve their menstrual health.

This important work increases gender equality and starts conversations that bring awareness and break down social stigmas.

EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT Access to period care keeps girls in school, breaking the cycle of poverty for generations. When women empowered by education lift their families and invest back into their local economy, they bring change to entire communities. To help enable this transformational change, we equip people with safe and reliable period care and fund girls’ educational scholarships and workforce development for women.

SUSTAINABILITY Every consumer who chooses reusables saves thousands of single-use period products from our landfills and oceans. We provide consumers with sustainable solutions to decrease waste through product design that is healthy for both body and planet, and by funding direct cleanup efforts.

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CANADA

ENGLAND

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ITALY

The Flow

GREECE

BAHAMAS

When We Ba

Equality Bahamas

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES GUATEMALA

GUINEA-BISSAU

CÔTE D’IVOIR

Real Imprints

Action Guinea Bissau

The Karat Project

VENEZUELA

HONDURAS

LIBERIA

NICARAGUA

Youth Dream for Constructive Achievement

Project Pajaro Mujeres Que Mueven

TOGO

GHANA

COSTA RICA

Rhoda

NIGERIA

COLOMBIA

HER Africa Ltd.

Casa La Mujer

PERU

Bright Minds Africa

BRAZIL

CAMEROON

Tabu Tabu

SOUTH AFRICA Eton College

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Saalt’s Global Reach

POLAND Volunteers for Ukraine UJ Students for Ukraine

ROMANIA Humans 4 Humans Ukraine

TURKEY

SYRIA

PAKISTAN

Shifa Clinic

HER Pakistan

Shifa Clinic

NEPAL

IRAQ Kurdish Refugee Relief Foundation

E

Creating Possibilities Nepal

BANGLADESH

and Together

RE

ETHIOPIA

INDIA

Aerie Africa

CAMBODIA

PHILIPPINES

KENYA

SRI LANKA UGANDA

Tamil Community Center

TANZANIA MOZAMBIQUE ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE

Kurandza

AUSTRALIA

& New 2023 Partnerships

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2023 Project Highlights Menstrual Health

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Menstrual Health

“This donation was so meaningful to us because it directly affected members of our own family and their community.

We always dreamed of making a tangible difference for the people whose need inspired the origin of Saalt, and this year, we were finally able to make that happen with our pad-replacement underwear that best served their needs.”

—Cherie Hoeger, Saalt CEO & Co-founder 11

Venezuela

Saalt Wear for Venezuela Bringing the Saalt story

import into Venezuela, leaving

full circle with 2,500 pairs

people without safe and dignified

of Saalt Wear donated to

period care options.

Venezuela.

This year, Saalt stepped up our Saalt started with a phone call

commitment to changing that

between Cherie and her aunt

by donating 2,500 pairs of Saalt

in Venezuela, where pads and

Wear to communities in Caracas

tampons hadn’t been available in

and the mountain town of Mérida,

stores for years. While the Saalt

where Cherie’s husband, Jon, was

story has continued to evolve

born and much of his extended

over the years, unfortunately,

family resides.

the circumstances in Venezuela have not. Period products are still extremely difficult to access and

2,500 pairs of Saalt Wear donated to women in Venezuela 12

Menstrual Health

Kurdish Refugee Relief Foundation Kurdish Refugee Relief Foundation is a nonprofit committed to empowering the voices of refugee women in the Kurdistan region.

In a pioneering study, the Kurdish

the menstrual health gap in

Refugee Relief Foundation

a sustainable manner in the

(KRR) found that menstrual

Kurdistan region’s refugee camps.

health in refugee camps is regularly impacted by financial

In 2023, Saalt joined forces with

constraints, lack of accessibility,

KRR to donate 1,200 pairs of

and inconsistent support and

Saalt Wear to help bridge this

distributions. Through their

accessibility gap for 400 women

adaptive and human-centered

inside the Bardarash camp.

approach, KRR has become the first nonprofit to address

1,200 pairs of Saalt Wear donated to women in Kurdistan, Iraq 13

Iraq

“Saalt has helped our team further our mission of providing sustainable products and menstrual care for the women we work with in Kurdistan. Our team on the ground also conducted one-on-one counseling with women answering questions and providing information on menstrual hygiene and health.”

—Sherin, KRR Co-founder 14

Menstrual Health

2,500 2,500 15

Saalt Cups donated pairs of Saalt Wear donated

United States

Lahaina Donation Maui Rapid Response, Kapuna Farms, Ma’i Movement Hawai’i In August 2023, wildfires

party to get donations quickly

devastated the Lahaina

out the door. One week later, 45

community on the island of

boxes of donations arrived safely

Maui. More than 100 community

in Maui.

members were lost in the fires, and thousands more lost their

Together with you and the quick

homes, their safety, and access to

efforts of volunteers at Maui

basic necessities including food,

Rapid Response, Kapuna Farms,

water, and period care.

and Ma’i Movement Hawai’i, you helped us distribute 2,500 Saalt

We asked for your help through

Cups and 2,500 pairs of Saalt

a Buy One, Give Two promotion

Wear — enough to support the

where one cup and pair of

entire menstruating population

underwear would be donated

of Lahaina.

with every order placed. In response, you placed orders,

This is the power of people

sent messages of support, added

coming together to do good.

donations to your purchases,

When we unite our collective

connected us with local boots-

efforts and influence to lift those

on-the-ground volunteers, and

in need, we can create tangible

showed up to our local packing

impact that changes the world.

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Menstrual Health

The Flow 1 in 4 teens in the United States

tampons. This leaves students

struggles to afford period

with unreliable access to period

products or cannot afford to

care on nights, weekends, and

purchase them at all. When

on breaks. And, it’s why reusable

schools do provide period care

period care is such an integral

support, it’s primarily in the

part of increasing menstrual

form of disposable pads and

equity. Enter: The Flow.

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United States

The Flow is the only non-profit in

culturally-specific and multilingual

California that focuses exclusively

education about menstrual cups.

on reusable menstrual products.

In 2023, we proudly partnered

(We’re thrilled to have another

with The Flow to provide an

organization in the reusables

inaugural donation of 250 cups

camp!) They work primarily

and can’t wait for the impact

with under-resourced Black and

we’ll create together with

Latina communities, offering

reusable products.

1 in 4 teens in the United States struggles to afford period products or cannot afford to purchase them at all

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Education

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Fighting Period Poverty in US Schools In 2023, Saalt dedicated a

By providing reusable period

large portion of our impact to

products at no cost to schools,

addressing period poverty in

we aim to not only alleviate

US schools.

immediate financial burdens, but also to introduce a long-term,

In a recent study, two-thirds of

eco-friendly intervention to

teens in the US reported feeling

combat period poverty.

stressed due to lack of access to menstrual products in their

As a certified B Corp, we believe

school. Recognizing the pressing

that businesses can play a pivotal

need to address this issue, Saalt

role where public services may

is committed to ensuring that

fall short. By offering reusable

no student is hindered in their

alternatives, we not only reduce

education due to a lack of access

the environmental impact

to menstrual care. This year, we

of disposable products but

donated 3,087 pairs of Saalt Wear

also empower students with

and 637 Saalt Cups to 25 schools

knowledge about sustainable

across the United States. The vast

choices early in life. As we look

majority of these products will

to the future, we’re leaning into

reach students in Title 1 schools.

our mission of building a world where everyone can have a safe, dignified period.

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Education

HER International & Style Her Empowered (SHE) Creating opportunity through

girls from attending school,

education for girls globally.

Saalt funds 1,510 scholarships for girls annually in rural Nepal and

According to UNICEF, 129 million

Togo through our long-standing

girls around the world are

partners, HER International and

currently not in school. To remove

Style Her Empowered (SHE).

the financial barriers preventing

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Rural Nepal & Togo

In the rural town of Dang, Nepal,

electricity to her neighborhood.

HER International’s scholarship

This year, Elolo’s story came full

recipients are taught to be

circle when she was promoted

leaders in their own lives and in

to Assistant Director of SHE

their community as part of their

Togo and coordinated education

She Creates program, where

sponsorships for 1,500 girls

girls learn entrepreneurship,

across 21 rural villages where

communication, planning, and

roughly 70% of families live below

healthy emotional skills through

$1.90 per day.

hands-on, active learning methods.

After five years of partnership with SHE in Togo, Africa, we

“Elolo’s story is a

have the honor of watching our

powerful reminder that

scholarship recipients flourish

when girls and women

into empowered young women

rise, we all rise.”

who are creating change in their own communities. One SHE graduate, Elolo, is a powerful example of that.

—Fawziyat Sani, Global Communications Director of SHE

Elolo graduated high school in 2021 and immediately joined the SHE staff as the Impact Coordinator. Through her employment, she rebuilt her family home and brought

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Education

TabuTabu & Honduras Child Alliance Honduras Child Alliance (HCA) provides educational enrichment and healthy living programs to children, teens, and adults in El Porvenir, Atlantida, Honduras. TabuTabu drives positive social change in Rio de Janeiro by teaching people to engage in healthy relationships with themselves and others.

After fine-tuning our joint

Strong grassroots partnerships like

partnership through successful

these have taught us that ongoing

pilot programs and cup trainings

support and conversations that

in 2021 and 2022, we scaled

normalize sexual and reproductive

our efforts with Honduras Child

health are an essential part of

Alliance and TabuTabu in 2023 by

successful community programs.

equipping 52 young people across

To make support accessible for

the community of El Porvenir,

all participants, Honduras Child

Honduras with Saalt Cups.

Alliance and TabuTabu established a WhatsApp helpline and an

In 2023, TabuTabu also introduced

additional WhatsApp group

Saalt products in their home

titled Mi Regla, Mis Reglas (My

community of Rio de Janeiro,

Period, My Rules). We love their

Brazil. TabuTabu provided Saalt

dedication to supporting their

Cups and education sessions for

communities, and we’re thrilled to

58 additional young people in local

continue expanding access to safe,

high schools and underserved

dignified period care in Honduras

parts of the community.

and Brazil.

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Brazil

100+ community members received menstrual health education, Saalt products, and ongoing support in Brazil and Honduras

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Education

Karat School Project Menstrual health education

The Karat School was founded

and choice in Ivory Coast

in 2018 and serves 106 students in primary school in rural Côte

Through culturally sensitive

d’Ivoire.

curriculum and programming, The Karat School Project works

In 2023, the Karat School Project

to empower girls in rural Côte

hosted multiple workshops to

d’Ivoire through education and

teach about menstrual health and

choice over their period care.

sustainability. At the end of the

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Côte d’Ivoire

workshops, girls were given the choice between disposable pads and Saalt Wear. 98% of students chose reusables over disposables, marking a win for period equity and a win for the planet.

98% of students in Cotê d’Ivoire chose reusable period care over disposables

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Sustainability

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Sustainability

Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i Sustainable Coastlines

In 2023, Saalt sponsored three

Hawai’i (SCH) inspires local

large-scale cleanup events on

communities to care for their

Oahu that removed a total of

coastlines.

12,600 pounds of debris from local coastlines. Throughout the

SCH fulfills this mission by hosting

year, we also support ongoing

large-scale plastic cleanup

educational activities with local

events that engage new people

schools that promote equitable

in their movement and inspire

solutions to plastic pollution. One

them to change their behavior

of the many things we love about

in ways that benefit our planet

working with SCH is that they do

and all of its people. SCH also

more than treat the symptoms of

hosts ongoing educational

plastic pollution, they tirelessly

opportunities for students

advocate for solutions to the

and local communities and

root cause of plastic pollution—

partners with local organizations

disposable culture.

on compost, recycling, and community engagement programs that inspire both large-scale, systemic change and individual sustainability actions.

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United States

12,600 lbs of debris removed from local coastlines 32

Sustainability

81,643 lbs of plastic waste cleanup funded in Indonesia 33

Indonesia

rePurpose Global rePurpose Global is the

first period care brand to certify

world’s leading plastic action

as Plastic Negative in 2020, and

platform dedicated to reducing

we’ve continued that commitment

waste, reviving lives and

every year since.

restoring nature’s balance.

Through our ongoing partnership Saalt works with rePurpose

with rePurpose Global and their

Global to calculate our annual

impact project, Laut Yang Tenang,

plastic footprint, or the amount of

Saalt has funded the recovery of

plastic we generate annually. We

81,643 pounds of ocean-bound

then fund initiatives that remove

plastics across Indonesian islands.

twice as much plastic waste

As a result of this project, 250

from the waste stream. Through

waste workers in Indonesia

our partnership with rePurpose

received additional financial

Global, Saalt became the world’s

capital this year.

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Support & Initiatives 35

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Support & Initiatives

Tampon Tax Back Did you know period products

That’s why Saalt joined a

are still taxed in 21 US States?

coalition of 8 period care

It’s been called the “tampon tax.”

brands taking a stand. On October 11th, 2023, to celebrate

Despite period products being

International Day of the Girl, we

classified by the FDA as medical

rallied together in the spirit of

devices since 1982, 21 states

collaboration over competition

still charge sales tax on period

to amplify our collective voice,

care while exempting other

challenge the status quo, and use

medical and essential products

our influence to shape a more

like bandages, sunscreen,

equitable world.

antiperspirant deodorants—even newspapers and motor vehicles.

From October 11th and on, Saalt customers have been able to get

We’ve made big strides in the

their sales tax reimbursed on all

past decade: the majority of

Saalt cups, discs, and underwear

states have given period care

purchased on saalt.com or at any

products tax-exempt status. But

Saalt retailer. Cheers to period

people with periods in the 21

progress for all!

states that still have the “tampon tax” are charged between 6% and 9% in sales tax on top of the cost of the product. We think that needs to change.

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Everywhere

6–9% sales tax is charged on period care products in 21 states

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Support & Initiatives

Saalt Travel Kit At Saalt, we aim to maximize

opportunities for underserved

our impact for good with every

women that offer above living

decision we make and product we

wages, health and childcare

create. This June, we launched our

benefits, and paid-to-learn

new Saalt Travel Kit in partnership

literacy programs.

with Style Her Empowered (SHE), our long-standing impact

The travel bags are wax-printed

partner in Togo, West Africa.

and dyed by hand using a

Each kit comes with a beautiful

traditional West African technique

100% Cotton Travel Bag that

called batik. The unique patterns

was designed and made in Togo

were custom designed for Saalt

by the talented seamstresses

to both honor women in West

at SHE. The SHE team artfully

Africa and to represent the ripple

designed this bag to honor our

effects of using business as a

collaborative partnership, which

force for good. Every purchase

continues to empower thousands

our customers make at Saalt help

of women and girls through

fund powerful partnerships like

funding for scholarships and job

this one.

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$6,000 41

was donated to support Faces of Hope’s emergency clothing and personal item services alongside ongoing Saalt product donations

Support & Initiatives

Faces of Hope According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 10 million

“The addition of Saalt

people in the United States

products in Hope’s

experience domestic violence

Closet has not only

each year, 96% of whom identify as women. That equates to about 20 people per minute who are victims of violence by a family

increased our ability to provide our clients with necessary feminine

member or intimate partner.

hygiene products, but

One in every three women here

has empowered our

in Saalt’s home state of Idaho

clients to be able to

will experience intimate partner

choose the hygiene

violence in their lifetime.

products that best fit

Faces of Hope’s values encapsulate their vision for those

their needs.”

they serve—hope, healing, justice, safety, and empowerment. In 2023, Saalt donated $6,000

—Tianna Stolp, Grant Manager at Faces of Hope

to support Faces of Hope’s emergency clothing and personal item services alongside ongoing Saalt product donations.

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Thank you.

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Printed on 100% recycled paper

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