Interview with Amber Fawson + Cherie Hoeger, Founders of Saalt Cup

Hey, friends! If you've been following my Instagram, you might have noticed a giveaway (ends tonight at midnight, go enter if you're a lady in the USA!) involving Saalt Menstrual Cup, a brand recently started by two ladies - Cherie and Amber. You might have also heard through my IGTV that I am starting a weekly written interview series with other creatives and business owners in the sustainable/eco/zero waste/fair trade/slow living/etc etc space.I figured publishing an interview with the founders of Saalt would be the perfect way to kick off the series since you've already met them through my Instagram. I currently have between 5-10 interviews scheduled, but may add more later! (psst, if you want to be interviewed for the blog, shoot me an email: hello@thehonestroot.com).SO, without further ado, I bring you the very first installment of my weekly interview series! Enjoy!

Interview with Cherie and Amber, Saalt Cup Founders

Please introduce yourself and tell me a bit about Saalt Cup.

Hi! We’re Cherie and Amber, founders of Saalt, a reusable period care company taking a healthy and more sustainable approach to period care.Before starting Saalt, we had worked together for five years writing college textbooks on fitness and wellness (and still do actually!). As technical writers, we get a *totally nerdy* thrill from taking complex concepts and processes and breaking them down into simple and actionable steps that help people change behaviour or improve their life situation. So we’re all about empowering through education.

In 15 words or less, what is the main mission or ethos of your brand?

We empower women to care for themselves in a healthy and sustainable way. 

How did you become involved/start the business?

Cherie: It started with a phone call I had with our aunt in Venezuela who for months, couldn’t access basic food and hygiene supplies like diapers or pads and tampons because grocery shelves were literally empty. I remember her saying, “Cherie, you just can’t imagine what it’s like.” I immediately thought of my 5 daughters and what I would do in that situation. Honestly, the dependence we have on disposables and the thought of not having any options for my daughters really kept me up at night.

Anyone with a period can relate to those “panic” moments you have when your period comes early or unexpectedly, and you realize you have no supplies on hand. It makes you feel a bit insecure and vulnerable, and a little embarrassed that you don’t have what you need to take care of yourself. Fortunately for us in developed nations, these times are usually just a temporary inconvenience. Really its first world privilege to just be inconvenienced, because in developing nations where many women and girls lack access to quality period care, these “panic” moments can happen every month and cause women and girls to miss work and school or drop out altogether. I wanted to help change that.

So I started researching into what options there were out there to help solve this problem, and that’s when I was first introduced to the menstrual cup. I bought several to try out, and was sold on the cup right away! I loved the fact that it was reusable, that it lasted up to 10 years, that you could wear it for 12 hours at a time, that it was more comfortable and healthier than tampons, and of course better for the environment. I thought, “Seriously, where has this been all my life?”Since I’ve always been a practicalist, I started putting together these hygiene kits with bulk orders of thousands of reusable products like cloth pads and diapers to get reusables into the hands of more of my friends and family. And my intention was to also include a good menstrual cup, but I just couldn’t find one that I could really stand behind. So I started custom designing (with the help of my amazing husband!) what I hoped would be the perfect cup.

And that’s when Amber saw the potential of the cup and felt it was absolutely necessary to take the cup mainstream. Amber had built and sold her own chocolate shop four years before starting Saalt, and had no plans to start another business ever again (it’s a big job!). But as she came to understand that something as simple as a period cup could give people a healthier way to care for their periods as well as help keep girls everywhere in school, she felt that it was worth every effort to get the word out. Amber came up with the name Saalt to represent something that is essential for our bodies, and also natural. 

In an ideal situation where you had every resource at your disposal, where would your brand be in the next 5 years?

Saalt would be the number one reusable period care company in the world, and be known for taking reusable period products mainstream while simultaneously elevating the period conversation to create meaningful change for women and girls everywhere. Our products would also be accessible through major retail chains around the world.

What or who inspires you the most?

Amber: The school teachers of my children. My son’s teacher right now has recruited students over the summer to help a campaign to build a school in the hometown of a local refugee. How amazing is that? Teachers are amazing.

Cherie: Philanthropists and activists like Melinda Gates, Malala Yousafzai, and so many others who aren’t afraid to speak out and support women’s rights and girls’ education. Mother Teresa was also my childhood hero. I remember reading her biography and thinking that I wanted to be just like her. 

What do you think about the future of conscious consumerism?

Amber: I think more of us are learning how satisfying it is to mend and make do, to be resourceful and use what we have. We influence and inspire each other so much in this way. I can still remember a time when thrifting wasn’t cool. No way is that coming back!

Cherie: I believe the Benefit Corporation standard is decisively the way of the future. It’s focus on conscious capitalism in every aspect of business—from sourcing products responsibly, paying fair wages, committing to honesty and transparency, and using business as a source for good—all gives me hope and optimism for the future.

Have you received any wise words lately?

Amber: “We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” Luciano De Crescenzo

Cherie: "You can’t live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you." John Wooden

What is one thing you've done that you're really proud of?

Amber: When I sold my chocolate shop to refocus on important things.

Cherie: When I said “yes” to opening our home to foster children despite well-intended friends discouraging me from doing so. (Because I had too many kids already! We have 5) A decade later, it is hands down the most rewarding and impactful contribution I have made in my

Now to get to know you a little better!

What or where is your happy place?

Amber. Anywhere outdoors. It can be wilderness or urban spaces. I live for both. In fact, over summer I pull my children out of bed at 7 am a couple times a week and make them skateboard with me at our favourite urban spaces and parks. I love to be outdoors when the sun is just coming up or going down.

Cherie: Anytime I get to watch my kids grow and excel in their education and talents. There’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing kids, and all individuals for that matter, rise to their potential. We each have so much we can give to impact the world for good. 

If your brand/business/blog were an Ice Cream flavour, what flavour would it be?

Lemon sorbet. Simple and basic, and hopefully refreshing. 

Puns or knock-knock jokes?

Puns all day. We hear Shakespeare considered them high humor?

Dogs or cats?

Cats who think they’re dogs. 

Birds or fish?

Fish. Cherie could live all day at the river. 

Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate. 70% cacao or darker. How did humans across history ever do without it? 

Books or movies or TV?

Books. Nonfiction for Cherie. Biographies for Amber, read three chapters at a time bouncing between books. 

If you could move anywhere else in the world to live for 1 year, where would it be?

Cherie would go to Thailand to eat something exotic every day. Amber would go somewhere Latin and stay out dancing every night. 

Anything else you'd like to add?

We are so excited about the chance to champion a new and more satisfying and honest way of life. Thank you for having us! 

An interview with Cherie and Amber - boss babe founders of Saalt Menstrual Cup