Ana Ames-Durey started an organic tampon company to supply New Zealand women with a quality product.
Ana Ames-Durey was rushed into surgery having just signed a form giving doctors permission to remove both her ovaries.
At just 28-years-old, she was crippled with abdominal cramps and an ambulance had been called. Scans revealed two cysts, both about 7cm in diameter, were growing on her ovaries. One had twisted and split, leaking toxins into her body.
Fortunately, she survived the surgery with great strength and doctors were able to save her ovaries. It ended up being a life-changing experience.
DAVID WALKER/Stuff.co.nz
Ana Ames-Durey started her own organic tampon company.
Medical staff recommended she switch to organic tampons to reduce the stress on her system.
"Regular tampons are filled with chemicals, pesticides, fragrances, bleaches and dyes," she says.
"That's going into the most absorbent part of a woman's body.
David Walker
Organic tampons perform like any other tampon.
"I went out to find - well, whatever an organic tampon was."
She struck out. Unable to find a reputable company making a truly organic product available in New Zealand, she decided to fill the gap in the market.
There were cheaper options out there, but Ames-Durey ended up settling on a European factory that could guarantee a quality organic product which would be made to certain specifications and shipped to New Zealand for packaging and distribution.
David Walker
Don't worry, even though they're organic, they're still white.
Bon Tampons are made with 100 per cent organic cotton - no dyes, fragrances, chemicals or toxins of any kind. If you were wondering where the name comes from, "tampon" derives from a French word for "plug". Bon means good in French, thus, The Good Plug.
Finding a manufacturer proved one of the easier hurdles to jump. Getting a loan for a business selling organic tampons was significantly harder.
"You're pitching to male bankers. I got turned away at least four or five times.
"These guys were saying I should start a market stall or something. I think the words organic and tampons just freaked them out."
She eventually secured finance and launched the company in August last year with business partner Rhys Clareburt. They now ship all over the world.
Ames-Durey promises that Bon Tampons are just like any other tampon - they are equally as absorbent (light, regular and heavy), are a nice clean white colour (from natural white cotton) and even come in a eco-friendly tube which stops tampons being scattered through your handbag.
If you buy online from bontampons.co.nz, 16 packs range from $8.36-$9.35 depending on absorbency.
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