Business management

A day in the life of FabLittleBag founder Martha Silcott

Back in April, we launched the Go Beyond competition for female entrepreneurs, in partnership with Meta. Martha Silcott, founder of FabLittleBag, was one of the winners. Here, she shares her experience of growing an eco-conscious business with impact at its heart.

12 Oct 2022 . 3 min read

In the UK 2.5m tampons and 1.4m pads are flushed down the toilet each day which is why Martha Silcott created a hygienic product to empower women to feel relaxed and confident about disposing of their menstrual products.

Describe your business in 100 words or less

“We’re changing the world for the better one FabLittleBag at a time. FabLittleBag is a sustainably sourced disposal bag for tampons and pads. Our mission is two-fold. First, to convert flushers into binners because flushing causes blockages and pollution of our rivers, oceans and beaches, and a lot of period products contain high levels of plastic. The second part of our mission is to empower women and girls to feel relaxed, confident and hygienic when disposing of their tampons and pads wherever they may be – bin or no bin – in buildings or in nature. We’re D2C and B2B.”

Why did you decide to do this?

“I was made to feel acutely awkward at a friend's house because they had no bin in their downstairs toilet, and I was forced to do the ‘handbag smuggle’, which was horrible. The more I asked about people's experiences, the more disposal horror stories I heard. And the more research I did, the more I was aware of the pollution damage caused by the flushing of tampons and pads. There was no solution out there – people were using dog poo bags. So I invented FabLittleBag.”

What’s the first thing you do on a working day?

“Sadly, check my phone to prep for the day. Then have a cup of tea.”

What does a typical day look like?

“Do 10 minutes of exercise, shower and get to my desk. It will typically be a combination of calls, emails and meetings, plus working on projects, presentations and checking LinkedIn, which I find an interesting place to learn from and contribute to. Then mild panic when I realise it’s 7.30pm and I haven’t a clue what to cook for dinner.”

You never stop learning. It’s a process, and there are always people and ideas out there that can inspire, improve and educate you

What is your Monday motivation?

“The size of my to-do list. It’s never ending. Right now I probably have more than 100 things on it because as soon as one gets done, three more appear. So that's the worst thing about it. You never feel that sense that everything is finished or sorted. It’s always: ‘I’m behind. I haven’t done this, I haven’t done that.’ That’s probably one of the big negatives of running a business. But my biggest motivation is our customers”

Tell us about your Go Beyond competition experience

You were one of the winners of our Go Beyond competition partnership with Meta. Part of the prize included access to a Digital Boost Small Business Boot Camp.

“You never stop learning. It’s a process, and there are always people and ideas out there that can inspire, improve and educate you.”

What’s your biggest lesson in business so far?

“It will always take longer, cost more and be more difficult than you imagine. Tenacity is a pre-requisite.”

Looking to the future, what are you most excited about?

“Taking advantage of the huge opportunities to make a positive difference to women and girls, and to the aquatic environment by spreading the word and usage of FabLittleBag. Sports, industry, hotels, corporate, schools, universities – the list of targets is endless.”

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