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When Judith Balcazar had to undergo an operation to remove a mbad from her bladder, she never thought that she would leave the operating room with a business idea.
Judith, 65, former director of a textile company, and Anne Davidson, retired teacher, 53, they had always thought that undertake a business together at some point in their 25 years of friendship.
But they never expected it to be related to underwear.
Judith's bladder surgery had weakened her muscles and she often felt unable to laugh or cough without getting wet.
And this is not the only one.
Experts estimate that one in three women suffers urinary incontinence.
The United Kingdom's Health Service (NHS) has warned that millions of people with incontinence suffer in silence because they feel too embarrbaded to talk about it.
"Shameful"
Judith remembers when she had been looking for incontinence products for the first time.
"That was enough embarrbading to go to the pharmacy and even having to walk down the hall and ask where these things were, because I was not sure what I was looking for, "he recalls.
During her visit to Famarcia, Judith remembered a story about the impact of this type of item and diaper on the environment.
Green groups warn of the impact of the billions of these products that are part of the global sanitary waste management system every year.
Layers, for example, often have synthetic polymer fillings that can take up to 500 years to decompose.
And adult incontinence products, which are many times larger than baby diapers, take up more space. And the demand is increasing.
"We have an aging population in the western world," said Judith.
So she started looking for alternatives but found only female underwear for incontinence in high quality plastic pants.
"You would be ashamed if someone saw you using that," he says.
"I just wanted to do something that looks like a normal undergarment so that when you're at the gym and you undress … do not be terrified at the thought that somebody is going to be in the gym. the other way. "
"And toIf you sit down and look normal and do not contribute to the landfill"he says.
An empty space on the market
Anne liked Judith's initial idea. Both thought they had found a niche in the market and they went to work on it. Soon he was born Giggle Knickers
They wanted the product to be specifically designed for the incontinence urinary soft like what Judith had gone through that absorbed the liquid without having to use any disposables.
Find funding came first of his listing. They first tried to use the crowdfunding on the internet before going to the program The dragon's lair from the BBC, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their various business ideas to a panel of millionaire investors known as "Dragons" (hence the title of the program).
All the investors seemed to like the idea, but not enough to give their financial support.
Finally, the friends found financial support in the form of a first government loan of £ 25,000 (approximately $ 32,000).
stigmatized
Both knew that the A crucial part of the product was its functionality.
Judith was looking for state-of-the-art fabrics and high absorption, studying new developments in microfibers and even inspiring other industries such as automotive manufacturing.
"I filled the house with pieces of paper and a dropper and let it drop from the water," he says. "I tried how much water was pbading, I put blotting paper to see how much water he absorbed, and then I counted how long it had taken to dry in the open air. "
After the tests, they created the underwear samples, tested their operation and condition after several washes.
The creators wanted to produce in the UK, but the high costs brought them to China to make the products accessible to consumers.
Judith believes that one of the reasons that the incontinence market is relatively untapped is that the the theme continues be something stigmatized.
Anne says companies such as Giggle Knickers have been accused of taking advantage of "women's insecurity" to buy their products, instead of urging them to seek help or do pelvic exercises.
But she does not agree.
"We do not try to say," Oh, do not do this and buy our product. "We say," You should go see your GP. "But in the meantime, you may need something a little less embarrbading and with a little more respect for the environment than to buy protectors"
In recent years, several celebrities such as actress Kate Winslet or television presenter Nadia Sawalha have spoken publicly about her incontinence, which, according to Anne, helps break the taboo.
"There are a lot of people among physiotherapists and groups, now on Twitter and Instagram, trying to get people talking about this," he says.
"It also happens to men, it's not just a women's affair, and instead of embarrbading us, we should talk," he concludes.
This note is part of the # 100Women season, winner of several international awards, in which the BBC devotes every year since 2013 a large space reserved for women and draws a list of 100 women from around the world illustrating their achievements, struggles or extraordinary experiences.
See all the information about 100 women here
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