Selyn Marks Five Years of #BleedGood by Advancing an Ecosystem-Led Approach to Sustainable Menstrual Health

For more than three decades, Selyn Group has continuously evolved by responding to the realities of the communities connected to its operations. Since its founding in 1991 as a small handloom enterprise, Selyn has grown into a diversified fair-trade business spanning ethical manufacturing, retail, exports, sustainable product innovation, and community development.

At the heart of this evolution has been a long-standing belief that businesses grow sustainably only when the communities around them grow as well. Sandra Wanduragala, Founder of Selyn Group, stated: “Selyn was built on a simple but fundamental philosophy, that communities must thrive for businesses to thrive. This thinking has continuously shaped our ability to innovate, diversify, and identify new opportunities for meaningful impact and sustainable growth. The same philosophy gave rise to #BleedGood, which today has evolved into part of a broader ecosystem centered on dignity, sustainability, and long-term social relevance.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Selyn identified a growing issue of period poverty and menstrual health vulnerability within communities connected to its operational network. What initially appeared to be a social challenge also revealed broader gaps around menstrual awareness, stigma, access, affordability, sustainability, and long-term behavioural change.

Rather than approaching the issue through short-term donations alone, Selyn began developing reusable menstrual health solutions using its existing manufacturing knowledge, sustainability experience, community networks, and ethical production capabilities. However, ongoing engagement with women, educators, healthcare professionals, and community stakeholders revealed that product access alone would not create long-term change. This insight became the foundation for what would eventually evolve into #BleedGood - now positioned as a strategic ecosystem partner for sustainable menstrual health under the Selyn Foundation, the Group’s social impact platform and ecosystem partner for women’s dignity and wellbeing.

Over the past five years, #BleedGood has grown into a broader ecosystem-driven initiative bringing together awareness, menstrual health education, behaviour change, advocacy, partnerships, implementation, and sustainable product access within a long-term systems-focused approach. Through collaborations with corporates, schools, universities, NGOs, humanitarian agencies, healthcare stakeholders, youth organisations, development actors, and ecosystem partners, the initiative works to support more informed, dignified, and sustainable menstrual health practices across communities and institutions.

FemmeCare, Selyn’s sustainable menstrual health brand, emerged from this ecosystem and now serves as the Group’s innovation platform for sustainable menstrual health solutions. Through continuous user engagement, field insight, and product research, FemmeCare has continued improving product usability, accessibility, comfort, and environmental performance while responding to evolving consumer and institutional needs.

Today, the ecosystem extends beyond products to include standards engagement, workplace inclusion, advocacy, and global collaboration. FemmeCare is a founding member of the Reusable Menstrual Product Manufacturers Alliance (RMPMA), a global alliance promoting collaboration and responsible scale within the reusable menstrual products sector, while the Selyn Foundation serves as the Sri Lankan partner for the Period Positive Workplace (PPW) accreditation programme. FemmeCare also engages with the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) in support of standards development for reusable menstrual products and contributes to ISO Technical Committee 338, which is currently working toward global standards for menstrual products.

Over the past five years, the broader ecosystem has helped divert nearly 21,600 kg of menstrual waste from landfills, distribute over 16,000 reusable menstrual products, and reach more than 9,500 women and girls through menstrual health education and awareness initiatives. More importantly, the initiative has contributed toward building a scalable ecosystem model that connects sustainability, community engagement, partnerships, behaviour change, and innovation within a single long-term framework. Today, the ecosystem increasingly operates through collaboration across communities, corporates, educational institutions, NGOs, humanitarian agencies, ecosystem actors, and implementation partners, demonstrating how partnerships and systems thinking can strengthen both long-term social impact and organisational resilience.

According to Selyna Peiris, Chief Growth Officer of the Selyn Group:
“The future of sustainable growth lies in building ecosystems where communities, partnerships, innovation, and responsible business practices work together to create long-term value. #BleedGood reflects our belief that dignity, sustainability, and commercial innovation do not need to exist separately. They can strengthen each other when approached through long-term collaboration and shared purpose.”

As #BleedGood marks its fifth year, the initiative continues to evolve beyond a traditional awareness programme into a broader ecosystem platform supporting sustainable menstrual health, dignity, and long-term behavioural change, while contributing toward more inclusive, informed, and resilient futures for women and communities.

 Source: Adaderana