Award-winning reusables brand responds to the #EndThePadGap crisis with a free online tool showing how quickly washable incontinence products pay for themselves and calls on NHS trusts to adopt reusables as part of value-based procurement.
SEAFORD, EAST SUSSEX — Cheeky Wipes, the UK’s leading reusables brand and B Corp, has launched a free online NHS Pad Gap Savings Calculator in response to the growing crisis in incontinence provision across England.
The tool, available at cheekywipes.com/pad-gap.html, allows anyone affected by NHS rationing to calculate exactly how much they would save by switching from disposable to washable incontinence products, and how quickly a starter bundle would pay for itself.
The launch comes in the wake of an open letter signed by a coalition of leading health organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, Prostate Cancer UK, Bowel and Bladder UK, Bladder Health UK, and Dementia Carers Count warning that NHS trusts are rationing incontinence supplies, creating what they have termed a “pad gap” that is stripping away the dignity of millions of people.
The Scale of the Problem
Freedom of information data from 110 NHS trusts shows that more than half (53%) have introduced caps on the incontinence products they supply. Healthcare professionals typically expect patients to need up to five pads a day, yet:
34% of capped trusts limit patients to just three products per day
66% cap provision at four products per day
Both figures fall below clinical recommendations
Around 14 million people in the UK live with some form of urinary or bowel incontinence
As a consequence, many patients, often older adults on fixed incomes or those relying on Personal Independence Payments, are being forced to fund their own supplies, choosing between basic dignity and other essential costs.
“As someone managing severe incontinence and prolapses at 33, with allergies to latex and adhesives, finding the right support has been a struggle. These products have changed my life. They are the best money I have ever spent.”
— Jade Williams, Cheeky Wipes customer
Cheeky Wipes’ Response
The idea for the calculator came directly from Cheeky Wipes’ own community. During a TikTok Live earlier this year, a regular participant known to the Happy Fanny Club community as Laine mentioned that they had switched to reusable incontinence products 15 months earlier and saved enough to buy a chihuahua. The monthly savings now cover the dog’s insurance, vet bills and food. The moment sparked a wider conversation about just how much people were spending on disposables, and how few of them had ever added it up.
“Laine’s chihuahua story during our Tiktok LIVE made everyone laugh and then it made everyone think. We realised people genuinely had no idea what they were spending, or that there was an alternative that would pay for itself in weeks. That’s why we built the calculator.”
— Helen Rankin, Founder, Cheeky Wipes
Helen Rankin added:
“We talk to thousands of people every week who are managing incontinence on our TikTok Lives, via email, across social media. The pad gap isn’t an abstract policy issue for them, it’s a daily reality. We built this calculator because people deserve to know that there is a reliable, affordable alternative that nobody can ration away from them. Once you own reusable protection, it’s yours. Full stop.”
— Helen Rankin, Founder, Cheeky Wipes
The calculator shows users how their monthly spend on disposables (based on a Tesco own-brand baseline of £64.80 per month) compares to the cost of a reusable starter bundle. Most users reach break-even within two months. Over three years, the saving typically runs to many hundreds of pounds.
Cheeky Wipes is also calling on NHS trusts to consider reusable incontinence products as part of the government’s new “value-based procurement” policy, which requires trusts to weigh quality-of-life outcomes alongside cost.
“Reusables create dramatically less waste, and honestly they are just so much more comfortable and dignified to use than disposables. Nobody wants plastic against their most delicate parts. The solution to the pad gap is already here and it's better for people and the planet.”
— Helen Rankin, Founder, Cheeky Wipes
Key Facts for Editors
Free savings calculator: cheekywipes.com/pad-gap.html
Disposable baseline: Tesco own-brand adult nappies £8.10/pack × 2 packs/week = £64.80/month (£777.60/year)
Reusable starter bundle break-even: approximately 2 months
Ongoing washing cost: approximately £1/month
#EndThePadGap signatories: Royal College of Nursing, Prostate Cancer UK, Bowel and Bladder UK, Bladder Health UK, The Urology Foundation, Dementia Carers Count
Cheeky Wipes: certified B Corp, founded 2008, Seaford, East Sussex
100% happiness guarantee and Klarna buy now, pay later available across the full range
About Cheeky Wipes
Cheeky Wipes is the UK’s leading reusables brand, founded in 2008 by Helen Rankin. The company sells reusable wipes, period pads and pants, cloth nappies, and incontinence protection, and is a certified B Corporation. Cheeky Wipes products are used by hundreds of thousands of customers across the UK and internationally. The brand is known for its direct, warm, and honest voice, and for putting financial savings alongside environmental benefits at the heart of its customer proposition.
Notes to Editors
Helen Rankin is available for interview and comment. High-resolution product images and brand assets are available at cheekywipes.com/press.html or on request.
Jade Williams, aged 33, a Cheeky Wipes customer quoted in this release, is willing to speak to press about her experience of managing incontinence and the impact of switching to reusable products. Media enquiries for Jade can be directed via Helen Rankin at press@cheekywipes.com.
The #EndThePadGap campaign open letter and FOI data referenced in this release were published in April 2026. Full source details: theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/06/people-living-with-incontinence-face-shortage-of-sanitary-pads-as-nhs-limits-supplies
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release • 20 April 2026
Press contact: Helen Rankin, Founder
Email: press@cheekywipes.com • Tel: 07884 115149