Elaine Hong has been on a mission to shift sanitary care to a more sustainable future since 2019 as the co-founder and CEO of Enya, a pioneering digital period care company that created Malaysia’s first organic pads. Organic cotton is farmed without harmful pesticides, is kinder to the soil and can generate up to 46% less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional cotton. “With Enya, we wanted to incorporate organic cotton because of its hypoallergenic features towards women with sensitive skin,” Elaine explains.

By investing a portion of profits into research and development, Enya aims to eventually make its products fully biodegradable by replacing PE elements with plant-based fibres. “Although our products are not 100% sustainable yet, we do our best in designing packages that are beautiful enough to upcycle instead of discard. Using organic cotton also requires less water to cultivate,” the former fashion designer elaborates. “In alignment with the people and planet, Enya aspires to branch into areas that offer more eco-friendly alternatives for period collection.”

“The name Enya means fire. Not only do we want to provide sustainable, skin-friendly period pads to women but to also spark period conversations that are informative, inclusive, and diverse,” Elaine says. Enya is also fighting period poverty, collaborating with non-profit organisations to deliver pads to girls and women that need them.

Top & pants from Moschino