Ruby Raut, an environmentalist and co-founder of WUKA (Wake Up Kick Ass) is at the forefront of a movement that connects menstrual equity with climate action, challenging deep-rooted cultural taboos along the way.
Ruby’s journey began in Nepal where menstruation was shrouded in shame. “The word for period in Nepali is ‘nachune’, which literally means ‘untouchable,’” she says. When she first started menstruating at age 12, she was sent away to her aunt’s home and wasn’t allowed to touch plants, go out in the sun, or speak to men. This practice, known as ‘Chhaupadi’, is now illegal in Nepal but remains ingrained in many rural traditions.
“No one explained why I had to stay away. I just felt ashamed and deeply alone,” she recalls. “Wearing old sari rags that weren’t hygienic or leak-proof, going to school without proper toilets—it all made me feel like my body was a burden.” Those experiences, she says, seeded her lifelong commitment to dignity, access, and sustainability in menstrual health.
That mission led to the creation of WUKA, one of the UK’s first brands of reusable, leak-proof period underwear. But Ruby is clear: her work isn’t just about comfort or convenience. It’s about the environment, too.
“Disposable pads are up to 80% plastic, and each one can take up to 500 years to decompose,” she says. “Yet menstrual products are often left out of climate conversations because they’re seen as too personal, too taboo. That silence has a cost.”
In the UK, she was stunned by the variety of period products on the shelves, but disappointed by how unsustainable most were. “We see the plastic in tampon applicators, but we don’t talk about what goes into pads, how often they’re used, or where they end up,” she says.
For Ruby, breaking the silence around menstruation is critical, not just for gender equality, but for climate resilience. “If we want to build a greener future, we need to talk about all the waste we produce, including the products half the population uses every month.”
She also sees cultural stigma as a shared global issue. “In South Asia, periods are publicly restricted. In the West, they’re hidden in silence. Both approaches create shame and ignorance,” she explains. “That’s why conditions like endometriosis go undiagnosed, and why sustainable period choices aren’t widely known.”
But Ruby isn’t just challenging stigma, she’s changing policy. In 2021, she led the successful campaign to remove the 20% VAT on period underwear in the UK, calling out the absurdity that eco-friendly, reusable options were taxed while single-use plastics were not.
“It took nearly five years,” she says. “We didn’t have a blueprint, but we built awareness, gathered evidence, and brought people along. It was a crash course in how slow, but powerful, policy change can be.”
Her fight continues with a campaign to eliminate VAT on period swimwear, another essential product unfairly taxed as a luxury. “We’re better prepared now,” she says, “and we know we’re not alone.”
At the heart of Ruby’s work is a simple belief: no one should feel ashamed of their body or their impact on the planet. “Periods are natural. Plastic pollution doesn’t have to be,” she says. “Change begins with open, compassionate conversations. That’s how we break the cycle of shame, of silence and of waste.”
