Sexual Health Saves the Planet - Here's How

There is an opportunity to invest in and have impact at the intersection between women’s health and climate. For this year’s D&AD New Blood Awards, The Case for Her teamed up with Project Drawdown to challenge emerging creatives to to bring this topic to the forefront! 

This was our most challenging New Blood brief yet, and it is incredible to see the creativity displayed across the five pencil-winning submissions! But before we introduce you to the winners, let’s discuss the reasons why the intersection between Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and climate is so important.

Three reasons why you should care about the intersection between SRHR and climate

We need the talent of all genders to address climate change holistically and inclusively

We all benefit from women having a seat at the table. Society performs better when women are included in decision-making that affects their well-being. Women and girls play a vital role in creating change – and especially when it comes to climate solutions – that addresses the needs of the population at large. Girls need to have equal access to high-quality education to realize their potential to generate impactful development in managing climate change and climate catastrophes. 

"Universal education and SRHR have numerous benefits for all people and must be embedded in climate conversations and solutions. It's important to recognize that women and girls in both emerging economy countries and high-income countries can lack access to high-quality and affordable reproductive health care."

– Carissa Patrone,

Program Coordinator - Drawdown Lift

Women are hit harder by climate change and deserve the right to have a say in their future

Climate change disproportionately affects women. Women's mortality increases during climate-related risks and climate events worsen existing gender disparities. Improving equality in reproductive health by opening up conversations around pleasure equips people with the knowledge about how to protect themselves, decide if and how many children they want, improve their reproductive health, access to education, prevent early marriage, and gender-based violence, and advance their socioeconomic status. 

“Achieving empowerment and helping take a step towards gender equality. Equality and sustainability go hand in hand."

– Anne Philpott,

Founder of The Pleasure Project

Caring about the climate is sexy 

There’s an encouraging increase in companies seizing the opportunities at the intersection of reproductive health and climate consciousness. Some groundbreaking innovations we’re happy to fit in our portfolio include:

Vyld: tampons made from kelp – a type of seaweed that sequesters CO2 at a rate 50x that of land-based plants

Planera: flushable and biodegradable pads that disappear before your next period 

HANX: sustainable, safe, and satisfying sexual wellness products, including their bio-degradable condom and petroleum-free lube.

"The water-based lubricants, organic and vegan condoms are a good pick for having fun and embracing a sustainable sex life. Safe sex, whether using eco-friendly products or not, is the most sustainable for people and the planet in the long run”

– Dr. Akinsemolu, Environmental sustainability advocate 

For the fourth year in a row, The Case for Her wrote a brief tackling stigmatized issues in women’s health for D&AD's New Blood Awards. We have been fortunate to partner with some amazing brands on our three previous briefs (McKinsey Design in 2019, Teen Vogue in 2020, and Refinery29 in 2021), and this time around was no exception. For 2022 we teamed up with Project Drawdown, the world's leading resource for climate solutions tasking this year’s class of emerging creative talent with developing a campaign that challenges government, policymakers, civil society, and/or funders to invest in and support SRHR as an opportunity to address rights-based health needs AND the climate crisis.

And the winners are:

• Her Forecast (Germany: Israel Salazar, Kira Segal-Pillemer, Elfreda Tetteh, Elva Pacheco)
• Her Side Effects of Climate Change (Norway: Ingrid Mullis, Jantra Hollum)
• Hidden in Plain Sight (UK: Andreas Ioannides, Sam Pilkington-Miksa, Khadija Alban)
• Practice What You Preach (UK: Agatha O'Neill, Sarah Lisgo)
• The Climate Miscarriage Tax (Canada: Mnrupe Virk, Claudia Barbiero, Ashley Park)

Head to our YouTube channel to see all the pencil-winning submissions!

Call to Action

Sexual and reproductive health is a long-term climate adaptation strategy with enormous benefits for women's and girls' well-being. We challenge governments, policymakers, and fellow funders to think about how YOU can apply a gender- and a climate lens to your future investments!