Aisle

Aisle is a Canadian menstrual-care company formerly known as Lunapads. Its business centers on washable and reusable products designed to provide alternatives to disposable menstrual hygiene items, including cloth menstrual pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups. The company’s roots date to 1993, when fashion designer Madeleine Shaw designed and created the first products. Shaw developed an initial business plan in 1994 and opened a store and small production facility in 1995. In 1999, she co-founded the business with Suzanne Siemens, an accountant whom she met through a community leadership course. The company developed around a social and environmental mission: encouraging a more informed and positive relationship with menstruation, the body, and the Earth. Its earlier Lunapads identity became associated with reusable cloth pads and broader efforts to make period care more sustainable and less stigmatized. One notable feature of the original Lunapads product was a liner-on-top construction rather than the envelope-style design common among many cloth pads. The system used a pad base that attached around underwear and a separate liner insert held by bands at either end. The historical design used cotton flannel, nylon, and cotton fleece components. Beyond product manufacturing, Lunapads participated in the wider reusable-menstrual-product movement. The company mentored AFRIpads, a project addressing inadequate menstrual protection and the resulting disruption to school attendance for girls in developing countries. The brand was also covered in Canadian business and lifestyle media in connection with sustainable period care, menstrual education, and efforts to reduce period stigma. The company rebranded from Lunapads to Aisle in 2020. Around the same time, the original Lunapads liner-on-top product was discontinued and replaced by a design using technical cotton. Publicly available reference material does not establish a complete current product catalog, ownership structure, financial profile, or geographic distribution. Aisle should be distinguished from unrelated companies, applications, and projects that also use the name Aisle.

Aisle originated as Lunapads, a reusable menstrual-care venture founded by fashion designer Madeleine Shaw in Vancouver in 1993. Shaw initially designed and made washable menstrual products, then prepared the business’s first plan in 1994. In 1995, she opened a retail store and small production facility, giving the project a more formal commercial base. The company was co-founded in 1999 by Suzanne Siemens, an accountant Shaw had met through a community leadership course. From its early years, the business combined product development with a social and environmental mission. Its stated purpose was to foster a more positive and informed relationship between women, their bodies, and the Earth. This positioned Lunapads not simply as an apparel or hygiene-products seller, but as part of the emerging reusable-menstrual-care and menstrual-health movements. Its products sought to reduce the recurring waste associated with disposable pads and tampons while giving customers durable products intended for repeated use. The historical Lunapads range included cloth menstrual pads and later expanded to period underwear and menstrual cups. The original cloth pad used a liner-on-top construction. A pad base snapped around the wearer’s underwear, while a separate liner insert was placed beneath bands at the ends of the base. The documented materials included cotton flannel, nylon, and cotton fleece. This product architecture distinguished the original Lunapads pad from the envelope-style cloth pads commonly sold by other manufacturers. The company also engaged in sector-building and international social-impact work. It mentored AFRIpads, a project focused on improving access to menstrual protection for girls in developing countries. AFRIpads addressed the connection between inadequate period supplies, missed school days, and limited resources for managing menstruation. Lunapads’ involvement reflected the company’s broader interest in menstrual equity and education, although the available references do not provide a complete account of the mentoring arrangement or its duration. During the 2000s and 2010s, Lunapads appeared in Canadian business and lifestyle coverage. Sources associated the company with Vancouver’s sustainable-business community, reusable period products, and efforts to challenge menstrual stigma. Public references also identify Lunapads International Products Ltd., but they do not provide enough information to establish a full corporate chronology, changes in legal ownership, or financial performance. In 2020, the company rebranded as Aisle. The transition marked a change in public identity while retaining the company’s focus on reusable menstrual care. The original Lunapads liner-on-top pad was discontinued during 2020 and replaced with a design using technical cotton. The available reference material does not document every subsequent product release, distribution market, executive change, or corporate transaction. Accordingly, Aisle’s founding history and principal product categories are established, while detailed current operating information remains limited.

1. 2020Rebrand to Aisle

   Lunapads changes its brand identity to Aisle.

   Source
2. 2020Original cloth-pad design discontinued

   The historical liner-on-top Lunapads pad is discontinued and replaced by a technical-cotton design.

   Source
3. 2019Vancouver period-stigma coverage

   Lunapads is included in coverage of Vancouver businesses working against period stigma.

   Source
4. 2011Lunapads receives business-community recognition and coverage

   Canadian business coverage discusses Lunapads International Products and its reusable menstrual-care business.

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5. 1999Suzanne Siemens joins as co-founder

   Madeleine Shaw co-founds the company with accountant Suzanne Siemens.

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6. 1995Store and small production facility open

   Lunapads establishes a retail store and small production facility.

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7. 1994First business plan

   Madeleine Shaw writes the venture’s first business plan.

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8. 1993Initial Lunapads products are designed

   Fashion designer Madeleine Shaw designs and creates the first reusable menstrual products that later become associated with Lunapads.

   Source

Sustainable, reusable, body-positive menstrual care designed to reduce dependence on disposable period products.

• Washable cloth menstrual padsmenstrual-care1993

  Reusable menstrual pads are the company’s foundational product category. The original Lunapads design used a pad base that snapped around underwear and a separate liner insert secured beneath bands at both ends. The historical construction included cotton flannel, nylon, and cotton fleece. That original liner-on-top product was discontinued in 2020 and replaced with a technical-cotton design. Specific current models and specifications are not established by the available references.

• Period underwearmenstrual-care

  Aisle is associated with reusable period underwear as part of its broader menstrual-care range. These garments are intended to provide absorbent menstrual protection in a washable textile format, reducing reliance on disposable products. The available reference material confirms the category but does not provide reliable model names, materials, launch dates, or current availability.

• Menstrual cupsmenstrual-care

  Menstrual cups are included among the reusable menstrual products associated with the company. They are intended for repeated use during menstruation and align with Aisle’s waste-reduction positioning. The available sources do not establish a specific product name, cup design, launch year, or current sales status.

• AFRIpads mentorship

  International

  Lunapads mentored AFRIpads, a project created to improve access to menstrual protection and reduce school absences among girls in developing countries.

  Outcome. The available source confirms the mentoring relationship but does not quantify its outcomes or specify its duration.

  Source

• 2020Rebrand from Lunapads to AisleStrategy

  The company had operated under the Lunapads name since its early years and had become associated with reusable menstrual products and menstrual education.

  What changed. The business adopted Aisle as its brand name.

  Aftermath. The company continued to be associated with reusable menstrual care, while the former Lunapads identity became part of its brand history.

  Source
• 2020Replacement of the original Lunapads pad designGeneration change

  The original liner-on-top cloth pad used a two-part construction with a snapping base and separate liner insert.

  What changed. The original design was discontinued and replaced with a design using technical cotton.

  Aftermath. The historical product remained part of the company’s product history, but its specific construction was no longer the active design according to the reference.

  Source

• 2020Lunapads rebrands as Aisle

  The Canadian reusable menstrual-care company changed its brand name from Lunapads to Aisle.

  Other
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• 2020Aisle replaces the original Lunapads pad design

  The former liner-on-top Lunapads cloth pad design was discontinued and replaced with a design using technical cotton.

  Product generation
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• 2019Lunapads featured in coverage of Vancouver businesses addressing period stigma

  Vancouver Magazine included Lunapads among local businesses working on menstrual education and period-stigma issues.

  Other
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• 2011Lunapads receives Canadian business and sustainability coverage

  Lunapads was profiled in Canadian business coverage in connection with its reusable menstrual products and social-enterprise activities.

  Other
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1. Aisle (company)
2. Lunapads International Products Ltd.
3. Meet the Vancouver Businesses That are Fighting Period Stigma