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SINCE the beginning of humankind, women have been dealing with managing the monthly flow using a range of means - whether that's towels, tampons or even rags.

And now there's a new and environmentally-friendly sanitary option on the block, as the world's first reusable tampon applicator was unveiled this week.

UK-based organic tampon company DAME created the product, simply known as D, to help women enjoy the comfort of an applicator without the plastic waste.

It uses "revolutionary" self-cleaning technology known as Saniconcentrates, within the material which acts as sterilisers and gives it antiseptic and antimicrobial characteristics.

That may sound a little scientific, but in simple terms it means the green applicator can be used repeatedly with just a rinse under the tap.

If you're thinking that might be a little tricky when using a public bathroom, then the creators, Celia Pool and Alec Mills, say that a quick wipe between applications is enough if there's no sink.

Plus it comes with a cute green storage tin or travel pouch ideal for discreet visits to the ladies room.

The applicator itself does need sterilised with hot water between periods to keep things super hygienic.

It works like a regular disposable tampon applicator found in high street chemists, except you can use it again.

Simply insert any size tampon into the applicator and push it into the base.

Once used, simply wipe it down, rinse it off and pop it back in its case, ready to be reused.

Co-founder Alec told Sun Online: "There's a lot of women who will say 'I don't want to touch my blood' but that tide is changing.

"The stigma is there but the conversation is beginning to happen and people are ready to talk about it.

"It's not necessarily the solution to our problem with plastic waste and lots of women are using things like cups or don't use applicators at all.

"But there are reasons why women use applicators and we all want to be more environmentally friendly, so we've come up with an alternative."

Friend Celia, who helped found the company, said the pair began looking at reusable alternatives after selling a range of other sanitary products.

Celia said: "We've been working in the tampon business for a while and we just saw all this plastic waste that was happening and we realised this was a massive problem that people weren't looking at.

"They were looking at plastic bottles and plastic bags but no one was thinking about menstrual products because it's a topic that people don't really talk about.

"Seeing the stats of billions of plastic applicators being chucked away every year, that I think was a big enough jolt to push us into action."

Alec added: "We spent eight months working to make it super, super hygienic and we've used revolutionary technology which is Sanipolymers that are baked into the applicator so it's actively antimicrobial at all times.

"It helps it reduce any bacteria on it by up to 99% or more within 24 hours.

"We spoke to doctors, gynaecologist we even actually asked a rocket scientist about friction and how to reduce it.

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"It looks like a small gadget but it's designed right down to the most intimate detail."

The pair launched a kickstarter campaign this week and have already reached their £20,000 goal to start manufacturing the product.

It means that DAME should be able to ship the first orders of the reusable tampon applicator from July.

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