What a year of pads and liners really costs in South Africa

Nobody notices the cost of liners, because it never arrives as one bill. It is a pack in the trolley every week or two, a few rand at a time, for years. Most women we speak to have never added it up. So let's do it once, honestly, with your own numbers.

The sum

Prices differ by brand and shop, so use your till slip rather than ours. But the arithmetic is the same for everyone:

liners per day × price per liner × 365

Take a very ordinary example: three liners a day at R5 each. That is R15 a day, roughly R450 a month, and about R5,400 a year. Every year. For something that goes in the bin by lunchtime.

Use fewer? One liner a day at R5 is still R1,800 a year. Use a heavier pad at R7 or R8 each, three times a day? You are over R8,000 a year. Whatever your number is, write it down — it is the figure the rest of this article is about.

What washable underwear costs instead

The Calm Wear Women's Leakproof Brief is R599 for one pair, R1,199 for three (buy 2, get 1 free) and R1,799 for five. Each pair is built for 100+ washes at 30°C, and a three-pair rotation worn daily runs comfortably over a year.

So the comparison for one year looks like this:

After the payback point, every month is money you are simply not spending any more. In the middle example — two liners a day — the second year alone is about R3,650 kept.

The costs that don't show on the till slip

• The emergency top-up. The pack you buy at the garage because you ran out, at garage prices.
• The “just in case” liner. Worn every morning whether anything happens or not, because you can't know. That is most of the 365.
• Washing. Leakproof underwear goes in with your normal load. There is no extra cycle, no extra water, no special detergent — so the running cost is close to zero.
• The bin. A thousand liners a year is a lot of plastic and pulp. Not the main reason most women switch, but a real one.

Where disposables still make sense

We would rather be straight than sell you something you don't need. Disposables still make sense if your leaks are rare — a couple of times a month — because R1,199 takes a long time to pay back at that rate. And if you soak through heavy protection every day, washable everyday briefs are not the right product for you; talk to your doctor first.

The switch pays off for the woman who wears a liner every day just in case. That is who this article is for.

Do the sum for yourself

On our Women page there is a slider that does exactly this calculation with your own numbers — move it and see when a three-pack pays for itself for you. Free delivery in a plain bag anywhere in South Africa, sizes S–XL, and real help on WhatsApp if you are unsure of your size.