Fluus is the world's first fully flushable period pad. Yes, you read that right, you can flush it down the loo, it won't block your drains, and will magically dissolve down to the size of half an eyelash.
Mother Design was enlisted to create an identity to tell the world about the product. The resulting campaign sensibly centres around the pads' USP – their flushable nature. According to the brand, people don't necessarily know that you can't flush other sanitary towels down the toilet, so around 30 per cent of towels are flushed, which is terrible news for drains and the environment.
The company was previously called Planera but Mother Design came up with the new name – a condensed version of "Flush Us". Having a name that describes what the product is about feels like a forward-thinking move in an area where traditionally brands have been almost hiding the purpose of their products – see our piece on the problem with period product branding for more on this.
The new wordmark echoes the u-bends in pipes and the colour palette is inspired by the plant fibres the pads are made from. Mother Design's OOH (out of home) campaign is bold and direct, with statements such as "about flushing time" or "zero landfill. What the flush?" coupled with a picture of the product, which shows straight away what the advert is about.
How does the product work, in terms of technology? According to Design Week, it uses patent pending tech called Flushtec. This tech is made up of three materials, "a super-soft top sheet made of cellulose plant fibres, a patent-pending absorbent core and barrier made from biodegradable polymers and cellulose plant fibres, and a bottom sheet made from cellulose plant fibres", explains the company's co-founder Dr Olivia Ahn.
Fluus' pads tear apart and break down as they go through the drains so by the time they reach the water treatment centre they are broken down into a fibre that's half the size of an eyelash.
Overall, the no-nonsense branding feels fit for purpose and on trend with the sector.
In recent years, there's been a lot more competition within the space to push boundaries and innovate. An advert by Bodyform was runner-up in our special Creative Bloq Awards advert of the decade award last year. I look forward to seeing what Fluus does next, and whether other brands start creating flushable pads, too. With huge amounts of pads and tampons currently ending up in landfill, innovation in this sector is certainly welcome.
