Lumen Spring 2021 - Flipbook - Page 28
TABOO sells organic cotton pads
and tampons and donates all profits
to help women around the world
access sustainable sanitary health
care and education.
According to Isobel, social
enterprise, like TABOO are the
absolute future.
“I love that they connect groups of
people in such a natural way. They
help the government do its job,
which is to support people socially
and financially. And so I think there’s
definitely a synergy there that needs
to be respected as well,” she said.
Isobel admits the social enterprise
model isn’t very well understood
legally and financially.
“This means there aren’t very good
structures in place or templates to
guide you into what the best way of
doing things is.
“While there is a lot of support
around start-ups, especially in
South Australia, I do think social
enterprises need a bit more love,”
she said.
“For a long time, individuals who
own social enterprises have just been
trying to figure out how to do it for
themselves. There definitely needs to
be more research and time put into
making sure they’re well supported.”
Enter the University of Adelaide’s
major innovation hub ThincLab,
which Isobel says played a big role in
supporting her social enterprise and
providing a safe space from which
TABOO could grow.
“ThincLab not only gave us an area
where our team members could
physically meet, it also had fantastic
experts in their fields come through
and mentor the groups based at
the facility.
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
“We’ve had connections with people
from ThincLab who have then
become long-term supporters of
TABOO. For example, our current
pro-bono marketing firm came from
a ThincLab connection and they’ve
given us countless hours, so much
inspiration and huge amounts of
encouragement.”
Burgeoning support and
encouragement for Isobel and
TABOO appear to be coming from
every angle, especially since the
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
student was named 2021 Young
Australian of the Year.
“In the next few years,
our goal is for TABOO
to be the leading and
most respected brand of
organic cotton pads and
tampons in the Australian
market.”
“It’s definitely changed TABOO
for the absolute better. We’ve had
so much energy around, new
customers, retail opportunities, new
collaborations, and all of this has set
us up to grow the business towards
our goal of eradicating period
poverty.
“I think the most exciting part for
me has been all the media coverage
in that it’s started conversations
around periods, conversations that
aren’t usually in the media, and
it’s taking them right into people’s
homes and into people’s car, which is
helping us reach our mission pretty
quickly and effectively.”
As TABOO’s Director of Health and
Education, Isobel focuses much of
her time advocating for educational
resources around menstruation.
“I love speaking to schools
and putting together resources
for students and teachers, so
really positive and productive
conversations can be had around
a young person as they start to get
their period and as they grow up.
“We do need better education
programs around periods and also
around such things as endometriosis,
infertility and menopause.
“Women have definitely been
expected to endure a lot of these
things alone. And if they can’t meet
their own needs, maybe because of
a financial, family or social position,
then it’s on them to fill in the gaps
and that’s a lot to ask,” said Isobel.
The South Australian entrepreneur
and aspiring doctor is undoubtedly
incredibly passionate about women’s
health and advocating for more
widespread access to pads and
tampons.
“I view periods as this significant
and common bodily function that
needs to be accommodated for in a
very structural sense.
“Buildings and infrastructure,
employers and schools all need to
be aware that half of our population
bleeds every single month, so that
should be considered when budgets,
time and resources are distributed.
“To me, it just seems crazy that
they haven’t been accommodated in
such a way in the past because pads
are, in my mind, equivalent to toilet
paper,” said Isobel.
No stranger to speaking her
