Ruby Cup

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Ruby Cup
legal form Danish GmbH (ApS)
founding June 2011
Seat Denmark
management Maxie Matthiessen, Julie Weigaard Kjær
Number of employees 8th
Branch Health , hygiene products
Website www.ruby-cup.com

Ruby Cup is a menstrual cup distributed by Ruby Life. Ruby Life is a social enterprise founded in Denmark in 2011 , now based in England, which manufactures, sells and donates the Ruby Cup menstrual cups, among other things.

Products

The menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone and are used instead of tampons or sanitary towels . As they can be reused for up to ten years, they are ecological and more sustainable than conventional tampons.

In addition to menstrual cups, Ruby Life also makes the Ruby Kegel, which can help stimulate and strengthen the pelvic floor in women.

Company history

Ruby Cup is part of Ruby Life, an award-winning Danish social enterprise. Ruby Cup was founded in 2011 by Maxie Matthiessen, Veronica D'Souza and Julie Weigaard Kjær at Copenhagen Business School. At the beginning, surveys were conducted on local needs in Kenya. Production started in the same year.

Julie Weigaard Kjær is currently running the company with a small team. Ruby Cup is headquartered in Barcelona , Spain. Previously, the offices were in Berlin , Germany and in Nairobi , Kenya.

Ruby Life is registered in England and products are also shipped from England.

Corporate model

Ruby Cup refers to the principles of social entrepreneurship . In Germany, the term social enterprise is also used synonymously for this corporate model. Social enterprises are described very differently and so far there have been few studies, especially for Germany. In Germany in particular, social enterprises are rather small and work with a large number of volunteers. Ruby Cup describes itself as a socio-economic company. They relate this to their social commitment, especially in Kenya. Ruby Cup offers the menstrual cups according to the principle of “Buy One, Give One”, ie “Buy one, donate one”, which means that for every menstrual cup sold in industrialized countries one is donated to a girl in Kenya . At the beginning, the model was tested to sell the product in Kenya and other African countries through local women who can earn additional money through the sale.

aims

Menstruation is a problem in many countries around the world because women and girls do not have access to or cannot afford hygiene products. As a result, these women experience exclusion from society because they cannot go to school or work for one week a month. One of the main causes of early school leaving is the lack of hygiene products for menstruating women. Menstruation therefore has a direct economic and educational impact. This problem is also an essential part of achieving the Millennium Development Goals . With a menstrual cup, these girls and women can be reintegrated into their everyday social life. A girl describes her life with a menstrual cup:

“When my mom had no money, I usually took rags and stayed at home because I was ashamed of going to school. I am very grateful that I now have Ruby Cup, because now nobody will notice that I'm on my period, not even my mom. I love Ruby Cup with all my heart because it helps me so much. I didn't even go to school anymore because I was afraid that my friends would notice that I was on my period and that I was embarrassed. "

- Valentine Atieno : letters to Ruby Cup

Due to the longevity of the product, an ecological goal is also achieved. Conventional hygiene products can only be used once and also have chemicals in their products. The widespread problem of dehydration caused by tampons can also be avoided with menstrual cups, so menstrual cups also contribute to the increased health of menstruating women. The disease toxic shock syndrome , which is rare (1 case out of 200,000 people) is associated with tampon in connection, but so far not with menstrual cups.

criticism

Since menstrual cups have to be boiled once a month, it has been criticized that adequate hygiene may not be guaranteed if there is a lack of water. However, the other variants that many women around the world use during their period (such as old fabrics) are not more hygienic.

Awards

Ruby Cup has received several awards for its social commitment. For example, it won The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2012 (US), Venture Cup 2012 (Denmark), a Sustainia100 Solution and was also nominated in Germany for the German Engagement Prize 2013.

partner

Ruby Cup works with various companies and non-governmental organizations . The “Buy 1 Give 1” donation program includes Ruby Cup Femme International, Womena and the Golden Girls Foundation.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency: Ruby Cup - a number one choice , accessed on November 12, 2013. (English)
  2. ↑ Thomas Scheuerle, Gunnar Glänzel, Rüdiger Knust, Volker Then: Social Entrepreneurship in Germany - Potentials and Growth Problems . PDF (3 MB), 2013, page 2. Accessed November 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ Thomas Scheuerle, Gunnar Glänzel, Rüdiger Knust, Volker Then: Social Entrepreneurship in Germany - Potentials and Growth Problems . PDF (3 MB), 2013, page 15. Accessed on November 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ Thomas Scheuerle, Gunnar Glänzel, Rüdiger Knust, Volker Then: Social Entrepreneurship in Germany - Potentials and Growth Problems . PDF (3 MB), 2013, page 31. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  5. ^ Social Impact Lab : Ruby Cup ( Memento from November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  6. ^ Ruby Cup: Ruby Cup in Kenya ( Memento from November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Factor N: Ruby Cup - New Menstrual Product ( Memento November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), 2012. Accessed November 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Jo Confino: Young social entrepreneurs changing the world In: The Guardian , August 24, 2012. Accessed November 11, 2013. (English)
  9. ↑ Florence Kanyike, Dorothy Akankwasa and Christine Karungi, FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists) Uganda chapter: Menstruation as a barrier to gender equality in Uganda , 2005. Accessed November 12, 2013. (English)
  10. ^ Ariane Baur: Ruby Cup ( Memento from November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Greenest Magazine , July 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2013
  11. ↑ Florence Kanyike, Dorothy Akankwasa and Christine Karungi (2005), FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists) Uganda chapter: Menstruation as a barrier to gender equality in Uganda , 2005. Accessed November 12, 2013. (English)
  12. ↑ Jo Confino: Young social entrepreneurs changing the world In: The Guardian , August 24, 2012. Accessed November 11, 2013. (English)
  13. ↑ Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency on Ruby Cup: Ruby Cup - a number one choice , accessed on November 12, 2013. (English)
  14. ↑ Florence Kanyike, Dorothy Akankwasa and Christine Karungi (2005), FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists) Uganda chapter: Menstruation as a barrier to gender equality in Uganda , 2005. Accessed November 12, 2013. (English)
  15. ↑ Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency on Ruby Cup: Ruby Cup - a number one choice , accessed on November 12, 2013. (English)
  16. ^ Ruby Cup Letters ( Memento November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Retrieved November 6, 2013
  17. ^ Ariane Baur: Ruby Cup ( Memento from November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Greenest Magazine , July 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  18. ↑ Lisa Rokahr: Blood sisters want to talk to you about menstruation , In: VICE , 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  19. ↑ Jo Confino: Young social entrepreneurs changing the world In: The Guardian , August 24, 2012. Accessed November 11, 2013. (English)
  20. ↑ Linda: Dangers of Menstrual Cups in Poor Rural Communities In: The Double X Economy. Globalization and women's empowernment , March 2, 2012; Retrieved November 13, 2013. (English)
  21. ^ Ruby Cup: The Company ( Memento from November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved November 12, 2013.