Lily Cup Compact Does The Job Of 1,625 Tampons

Image via Kickstarter/INTIMINA

A new Kickstarter campaign from INTIMINA is aiming to make women rethink the way they menstruate. The Lily Cup Compact, a brand-new kind of menstrual cup, is easily foldable and collapses into a case almost like a camping mug, with one big difference: It provides as much as 10 hours of period protection.

According to the San Jose, Calif.-based INTIMINA, this reusable cup can replace 1,625 tampons. INTIMINA claims that the average woman will use 12,000 pads or tampons over the course of her lifetime — that’s a lot of tampons getting thrown away. The Lily Cup Compact is made of soft, flexible medical-grade silicon and will reportedly last for years, making it a major money-saver as well as a more environmentally friendly option.

The Kickstarter page also notes that the Lily Cup Compact might be a better choice for those who are concerned about the chemicals and fragrances used in feminine hygiene products. The Lily Cup is made of 100 percent silicone and is hypoallergenic, latex-free, contains no phthalates and is non-absorbent. This, says INTIMINA, makes it much less likely to irritate delicate lady parts.

via Kickstarter/INTIMINA

via Kickstarter/INTIMINA

The goal of the minds behind the Lily Cup is to make menstrual cups more user-friendly and topple the tampon monopoly that currently dominates U.S. stores. “Only a small percent of women are aware that there are alternatives to pads and tampons… Pad and tampon manufacturers make huge profits from the guaranteed monthly repurchase of their disposable products,” says INTIMINA on its Kickstarter page.

The estimated retail price of a Lily Cup Compact is $40, but the company calculates that with proper care, one of their cups could last for five years. With a box of tampons averaging about $7, women could recoup their investment in under a year and save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the long term — quite a feat for a squishy pink silicone cup.