Bé-A: Japan’s innovative period shorts that can completely replace pads

Imagine if women and girls could wear special underwear during their periods without the need for pads, tampons or cups. This would save money, reduce waste and alleviate the stress of feeling uncomfortable when purchasing these products, making emergency drugstore trips to buy more, carrying them around and worrying about leaks.

Introducing Bé-A: Its signature shorts can absorb 125ml, twice as much as the average amount of blood lost during one period (about 60 ml*), all without being bulky. What’s the secret behind these magic period shorts? I sat down with Kumi Takahashi, President and CEO of Bé-A, at its Omotesando Office to find out.

*The amount can vary individually, ranging from 20ml to 140ml, with those experiencing heavy menstruation sometimes exceeding this (the average on the second day is 89ml).

Interviewee Profile: Kumi Takahashi

Bé-A’s Chief Executive Officer. After graduating from University College London, University of London, Takahashi worked for 20th Century Fox and HUGO BOSS before founding MNC* New York Inc. with Minako Yamamoto in 2009. In 2020, Takahashi conceptualized, designed and launched Bé-A. Like her business partner Yamamoto, Takahashi was raised by a single mother. She is exceptionally focused and devoted to gender equality and female empowerment. Takahashi splits her time between Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles California, where she lives with her family.

*MNC New York, the twin brand of Bé-A under the new umbrella V Holdings, offers holistic beauty and wellness support, ranging from supplements to skin and hair products to sexual health care items.

Overcoming initial challenges: The birth of Bé-A period shorts

“This is the world’s most advanced period shorts, but the development of it was initially challenging. We approached more than 20 factories across Japan with the concept of standalone period shorts, but they all declined. No one saw the merit, marketability or feasibility of such products. We were at a loss, but one of them reconsidered and agreed to try – a firm based in Kyushu that manufactures underwear for senior citizens with urinary incontinence,” recalls Takahashi. It was a moment when Japan’s technology for its rapidly aging population met a new horizon, freeing women from the hidden burden of menstruation management.

“Our startup is a women’s business. Our staff is all women, and we discuss everything openly. But one day, I noticed that we had never talked about our period. There were no sanitary items in our office bathroom because everyone dealt with them on their own, without a word about it. This realization sparked a question: why do we have to suffer alone? What if we can remove those physical, psychological and social hindrances surrounding menstruation? This began our journey to empower women through Bé-A shorts.”

After two years of rigorous experimentation, Bé-A shorts were introduced to the world through a crowdfunding platform in June 2020. The response was overwhelming. Within hours, the project surpassed its initial goal of one million yen (approx. $10,000), ultimately raising an astounding one hundred millilon yen (approx. $1 million in 2020) in just 45 days.

Made in Japan: Technology + Eastern medicine concept

“We continue to strive for improvement. Bé-A reaches its fourth anniversary in July 2024, and in the past four years, we have modified the shorts four times, listening to more than 7,000 women and girls participating in product surveys and interviews. These shorts embody inputs from all these women and girls with different period experiences and concerns,” Takahashi smiles.

Bé-A’s ultra-absorptive shorts are made of six layers of custom-engineered polyester materials. The second layer is woven with antibacterial silver ions (Ag+), and the fifth layer has an extra odor-elimination effect. In addition to these technology-led enhancements, the Bé-A shorts are designed to maximize user comfort. They are hemmed instead of seamed with elastics. Furthermore, the belly part of the shorts is fused with terahertz ore to keep the body warm and promote blood circulation, which is considered vital for women’s health in Japanese traditional medicine.

“Girls Be Ambitious” – Bé-A’s social initiatives in Japan and beyond

“Bé-A’s mission is to bring happiness to women and girls in Japan. This is just the beginning, not the ultimate goal. Our social outreach platform, ‘GBA – Girls Be Ambitious,’ is a play on the well-known ‘Boys, Be Ambitious’ message (delivered by William Clark in 1876 when he departed from his teaching post at Hokkaido University). We believe that girls should be encouraged to dream as much as boys. However, our ultimate vision is a future where we don’t have to specify gender, and everyone has the opportunity for self-fulfillment. While we currently focus on encouraging girls to ‘Be-Ambitious,’ our hope is to remove the gender-specific target one day,” Takahashi explains the origin of Bé-A.

Through the “GBA – Girls Be Ambitious” program, Takahashi and her team engage families, students and small businesses in open dialogue on gender, sexuality and women’s health and wellness. These seminars have also been held in co-ed and all-boy high schools, the prime age for cultivating awareness about their individual and diverse body conditions.

In March 2024, Takahashi organized the first overseas seminar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the shortage of menstruation items prevents girls from attending schools. The next step is to explore the production of period shorts in Ethiopia in partnership with UN agencies on the ground, working with local women, businesses and available infrastructure and resources.

The “Girls Be Ambitious” campaign also donates period shorts, which are especially useful for women and girls with physical and learning disabilities, as they ease menstruation-related complications. Having worked in conflict zones, I also believe that these period shorts can be invaluable in emergencies where access to water and sanitation is limited. Given the likelihood of increasing natural disasters due to climate change, these shorts will come in handy at temporary shelters.

Where to find Bé-A shorts

Bé-A shorts are available on the company’s website and have domestic and international shipping options. Different fees apply depending on the destination. Additionally, travelers flying on ZIPAIR, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, can find Bé-A shorts for sale in its in-flight shopping service on routes between Narita and various destinations, including Seoul, Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Vancouver, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. It’s noteworthy that ZIPAIR is committed to creating a gender-inclusive work environment, and on International Women’s Day of March 8, 2024, the airline unveiled a Boeing aircraft featuring the slogan “Girls Be Ambitious.”

“Give these shorts a try, and you’ll experience their quality. These are truly outstanding products, the best of their kind in the world,” says Takahashi. Japan is an appealing travel destination, especially with the current exchange rates. If you’re in any major city in Japan, visit popular household retailers and drug stores like Matsukiyo, Loft and Tomod’s for Bé-A shorts.

Spending $50 on a Bé-A item that is reusable, durable, washer and dryer resilient, leak-proof and promotes healthy blood circulation essential for fertility and other health benefits might be the wisest investment women and girls can make. This is especially true if it means saying goodbye to decades of inconvenience they have to deal with during periods.