SPONSORED CONTENT – At the end of last year, the B2B brand Femography, officially announced its re-launch. The fem tech arm of the MAS Holdings group, formerly known as FemTech at MAS, focuses on developing fem tech apparel to address female health and hygiene needs across all stages of the feminine journey.
With a large female workforce amounting to over two-thirds of the company’s employees and having witnessed first-hand the difficulties women go through during key biological phases, notably menstruation, pregnancy and menopause – the launch of a fem tech arm dedicated to female health and hygiene, was a logical step for South Asia’s largest apparel manufacturer, MAS Holdings.
All three of these stages can involve challenging experiences for most women (especially within conservative cultures in South Asia) due to social stigma and taboos. Thus in 2014, MAS began its foray into the fem tech apparel space, creating carefully crafted female hygiene wear. They saw an opportunity to go beyond the norm, developing products to improve women’s lives worldwide while changing the narrative around topics considered taboo by many around women’s health.
A female-centric workforce at the organisation means that these products are developed for women by women.
Period underwear, a transformational product
The feminine technology apparel space is a niche area. When MAS entered the space in 2014, the company looked at the urinary incontinence market, an area with little to no innovation that was rarely discussed.
Products in this space included the likes of pads and pantyliners, which afforded the opportunity for game changing innovation, led by Femography, the FemTech arm of the group. The development of reusable absorbent underwear by Femography that could tackle these involuntary leaks saw the creation of a new category in FemHealth, a game-changer for this segment.
Femography has also led the way in developing user-centric and sustainable period products. The company’s product technology and offerings include washable absorbent gusset technology for periods, urinary incontinence and vaginal discharge. This includes leak-proof, moisture-wicking and antimicrobial technology to keep wearers dry and odour-free. Likewise, swimwear for periods could help address issues around confidence when engaging in sports and recreational activities.
Femography has also developed products to address period pain through a wearable heating device, washable absorbent underwear to absorb body fluids, reusable absorbent nursing pads for breast milk leakage as well as cooling and temperature-regulating clothing for menopausal hot flushes and night sweats.
The rebranding
To celebrate the rebranding, Femography staged an event late last year, which was attended by keynote speaker Jessica Platt, anthropologist, women’s health champion, storyteller and founder of the Cambridge Collective for Women’s Health.
Addressing the audience in her speech, the CEO of Femography, Maria del Pilar, stated: “I am honoured to announce the re-launch of one of our most impactful brands. FemTech at MAS, now known as Femography, set out with a purpose in 2014, where we boldly took on the challenge of addressing the unmet/unseen needs across the feminine journey. Enabling a New York-based startup to upscale its portfolio with reusable period underwear and launching MAS’ B2C brand, ‘Become,’ that leveraged industry-first apparel technology to help ease hot flushes and night sweats among those going through menopause, have been two significant initiatives spearheaded by this fantastic team”.
“We are aware of the need to drive truly conscious change by respecting the planet as we champion the transition from disposables to reusables – an example being the reusable period panties embraced by women worldwide today. As a brand with a purpose, we will stay committed to developing products that make a difference in the lives of those who use them and the planet we live on.”
Supporting Women in Sport | Femography – Normalising the use of period underwear
MAS Holdings recently announced that it has once again partnered with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as the official clothing sponsor for the women’s cricket team for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, held in South Africa in February. MAS started making jerseys for the women’s cricket team in 2007-2008 and has held the title of official clothing sponsor for the team for over a decade.
In addition to this partnership, the team at Femography also handed over period underwear to the female national cricket team. The idea was to assist the players by providing them with products that would lessen any difficulties with menstrual leaks and discomfort and give greater confidence both on and off the field.
In addition to actively researching and innovating new technologies and product solutions to help women in sports, this initiative encourages the use of sustainable products among female role models who are well-known globally, assisting them in laying the groundwork and normalising the use of period underwear and sustainable alternatives. Femography has also identified a switch in the feminine hygiene market where consumers and brands have understood the damaging effects products such as tampons and disposable sanitary pads have on the environment and are currently moving towards using more sustainable alternatives, such as reusable period underwear.
Moving forward, Femography will continue to invest in innovative apparel technologies that boost female health, confidence and comfort. With a dedicated team of professionals and apparel-tech experts, the brand will evolve its portfolio, which includes solutions addressing periods, breastfeeding, hot flushes, and other bodily changes. Bending boundaries of alleged ‘taboos,’ Femography also takes on the open challenge of educating communities about the biological changes that females experience.
To learn more about Femography, visit femography.com