Halia - FAQ

How do I know if Halia is right for me?
If you’re a person who bleeds and are looking for more sustainable period products that aren’t made from plastic or other toxic materials, then Halia is for you!

Our pads are designed to function like regular sanitary pads to help you get through your period — except they’re more comfortable, have less health risks, and don’t harm the environment. We only use organic and biodegradable materials! 🍃

Why bamboo?
By nature, cotton is a resource-intensive crop since it requires a lot of water and pesticides to cultivate. Bamboo, on the other hand, does not need pesticides and can thrive with just rainfall. It is also a fast-growing grass, so it can regenerate quickly when harvested. In fact, it can grow up to four feet per day!

Aren’t menstrual cups or reusable cloth pads better than pads?

As much as menstrual cups or other reusable period products create less negative impact than their disposable counterparts, we believe that everyone should have access to eco-friendly sanitary pads and period products that suit their lifestyle — without having to compromise their values.

Our pads are made for people who want to make more environmentally responsible choices, but may not be ready to commit to reusables. Think of us as a reliable, plastic-free, single-use option.

But if you’re already using reusables, yay!

How long does it take for sanitary pads to decompose? What will happen to Halia pads after I dispose of them?
Traditional plastic pads take 500-800 years to decompose. On the other hand, our biodegradable pads take only 6 months to break down into organic matter in industrial compost standards, and 12 months to break down in a household compost. If it ends up in a landfill, it will take about 2-5 years to biodegrade depending on the conditions — still less than conventional pads!

Are Halia pads fully biodegradable? 

Halia regular and super pads are 91% biodegradable. The MVP of our pads, the super absorbent inner layer that soaks up all the blood, is not biodegradable. There are no readily-available bio materials to replace it with right now but we have been keeping our eyes peeled on alternatives that are still in their research and development stages 👀  We are very excited to have them commercially available in the near future!

Where can I purchase Halia products?

You can purchase Halia directly from our website halia.co from the convenience of your couch. 🛋

Where do you ship?

We ship Halia products nationwide in the Philippines. 🇵🇭

How much does shipping cost?

Shipping is FREE for orders over PHP 700.

For Metro Manila shipping is PHP 100. For provincial orders there is a PHP 150 shipping fee.

When will I receive my Cloud Kit?

Metro Manila 4-7 working days

Greater Metro Manila and Luzon  5-8 working days

Visayas and Mindanao 9-10 working days

Need your goods faster?  Check out before 1pm, on weekdays and a few days before a holiday.  

What are your modes of payment?
Major credit and debit cards, GCash, or cash on delivery (COD) is accepted.

What does ‘Halia’ mean

Pronounced /ha-lee-ya/, the brand is inspired by the moon warrior goddess in Philippine mythology of the same name 🌙. Drawing from her strength and empowerment, Halia pays homage to Filipino roots and hopes to inspire the current generation to embrace and celebrate their bodies! By mixing the old with the new, the masculine with the feminine, technology and nature, Halia aims to redefine the period experience and provide more sustainable period products in the Philippines. We also want to be a platform for menstrual health education and awareness.

Are your products ethically sourced?

We source our bamboo from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified sources, according to the FSC-STD-40-004 ver 3.0 standard (more info here). Unlike other sources, FSC-certified forests provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. 

Moreover, we make sure that the bamboo we use is ECOCERT organic-certified recognized, as equivalent with the EU standards of EC 834/2007 (more info here). Rest assured, there are absolutely no fertilizers or pesticides used in the farming process.

Are your products free from toxins and harmful chemicals

There are so many harmful chemicals in sanitary pads that we can barely pronounce — including phthalates, carcinogens, acetone, and more. Our organic pads are made from bamboo that has been certified according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® product class I (more info here). This has the strictest requirements, and it guarantees that our hypoallergenic pads are safe and free from harmful toxins.

Where are your products made?

We’re based in the Philippines, but our products are responsibly made with our trusted partners in China. You may not know it, but they have the existing technology that makes Halia pads possible. We have also carefully considered what materials can be sourced as close as possible to the manufacturing facility to minimize our carbon footprint without sacrificing the quality of our products. Plus, bamboo is indigenous to China, unlike cotton, which is mostly sourced from farther countries like Turkey and the United States.

Why not manufacture locally?
As much as it is our goal to have our products made locally, the existing technology and expertise we need to bring Halia to life isn’t available here yet.

Why is Halia more expensive than commercial brands?

Short answer: You only deserve period products that are healthy for you. We constantly make sure that you have the best products at the fairest possible prices.

Long answer: Most mass-produced sanitary pads in the market are made up of 90% plastic, and plastic is cheap. It becomes even cheaper because of economies of scale (more pads produced = more people buy = cheaper to produce each pad).

Halia pads, on the other hand, use fairly new technology to efficiently use natural fibers and biodegradable materials that work as well as (or even better than) traditional pads we know. We also make sure to responsibly source materials that are certified organic and biodegradable for our products.

Our goal at Halia is to make more organic, biodegradable pads the norm rather than the alternative. In the near future, we hope that you won’t have to choose between a cheaper product versus the one that’s better for you and the planet. We do this by constantly ensuring that we use the best materials while pricing them as fair as possible. So there will come a time when we too can achieve economies of scale and make Halia even more accessible!

Do you do collaborations?
Yes, we welcome any type of collabs! If you are a brand, organization, or a creative who loves what we do, hit us up for any ideas. 😉

I want to partner with Halia! Who do I reach out to?
Please email us at hello@halia.co with a groovy subject line ✌ (just kidding!…unless). However, it might take us a while to respond to your emails (we don’t hate you, we promise! We’re just a lil busy).