Femtech and the well-being future It creates

Clueは、フェムテックという言葉を作ったアイダ・ティン（Ida Tin）氏が運営する、ドイツのスタートアップ企業で、月経管理アプリを提供しています。次の生理はいつなのか、PMS（月経前症候群） の予測に役立つトラッキングができる注目のアプリです。またカスタマイズ性が高く、細かい情報を記録したり、PMS前・乳房のセルフチェック（乳房の検査に適した日の通知）・ピルの服用などを知らせてくれる便利な機能もあります。

日本にも月経管理アプリはありますが、従来のアプリの多くは、女性が使うということからデザインがピンクやパステルカラーなど、柔らかいカラーを使用するイメージがある中、「ピンクを使用しないデザイン」として注目を集めました。

Clue

出典：https://helloclue.com/

2013年にNYで創業され、生理期間中でも従来の生理用品をつけずに生活できる下着を開発し、世界中から支持されています。「For People with Period」を掲げ、女性に限らずトランスジェンダーにも考慮したブランドを展開しています。

THINX

出典：https://www.shethinx.com/

CORAは2015年に創業されたアメリカのベンチャー企業で、共同創業者の一人のモリー・ヘイワードは、2017年のフォーブス 「30アンダー30」（30歳未満の重要人物）の小売り・Eコマース部門で選出されるなど、注目を集めています。生理用品のサブスクリプションを提供していて、「毎月生理用品を買うのがめんどくさい」というような悩みを解消し、自分の生理期間や出血量によって、内容をカスタマイズすることができる仕組みになっています。100%オーガニックコットンを原材料とした生理用タンポンで、黒・白を基調としたスタイリッシュなデザインで人気を集めています。

CORA

出典：https://cora.life/

「あなたのタブーがワクワクに変わる日まで」をビジョンに掲げ、日本では未発達のフェムテック市場を育てるコミュニティ＆スタートアップを展開、またオンラインストアで、オーガニック生理用ショーツや、生理カップ、セルフプレジャーグッズなどを販売したりと多岐にわたるフェムテック企業です。

fermata株式会社

出典：https://hellofermata.com/

卵巣年齢をセルフチェックできる日本初の検査キット。自宅で採血して血液を郵送し、自分の卵巣に残る卵子の数を、年齢に換算するというものです。卵巣年齢は、「卵巣の中に残っている卵子の数が、何歳の平均的な値と同水準か」を表すものです。卵巣年齢は、個人差が大きいのが特徴で、卵巣年齢は、妊活を開始するタイミングや、不妊治療の検討に役立ちます。

Fcheck

出典：https://fcheck.f-treatment.co.jp/

Operating under the vision of "Until the day your taboos turn into excitement," fermata is a wide-ranging femtech company that runs a community and startup initiative aimed at nurturing Japan's still-developing femtech market, while also selling products through its online store — including organic period underwear, menstrual cups, and self-pleasure items.

fermata Inc.

Source: https://hellofermata.com/

Japan's first self-check test kit for ovarian age. Users collect a blood sample at home, mail it in, and receive results that express the number of eggs remaining in their ovaries in terms of an equivalent age. "Ovarian age" indicates at what age the average number of remaining eggs in the ovaries would typically be at the same level — and it varies significantly from person to person. Knowing your ovarian age can be a helpful guide when deciding when to start trying to conceive or when to consider fertility treatment.

Fcheck

Source: https://fcheck.f-treatment.co.jp/

In recent years, the spaces in which women can thrive have been expanding rapidly. Society is beginning to embrace not just diverse ways of working, but diverse ways of living — and we can expect this social transformation to continue and deepen. Yet because society has historically been male-centric, there have been few opportunities to seriously consider health issues unique to women, and services tailored to women's needs have remained limited. These challenges have not yet been resolved, and there are still many obstacles to creating an environment where women can truly flourish. For example, women remain underrepresented in management and decision-making roles within companies, and women's health issues tend to be poorly understood — often dismissed on the grounds that they don't constitute an "illness" per se.

When people hear the word "femtech," many may assume it's a women's-only issue. Of course, perspectives and voices that are distinctly women's are enormously important. But what truly matters, we believe, is for everyone — regardless of gender — to think about these issues together, share in the challenges, and generate new values that make society more comfortable for all.

Take fertility, for example. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), approximately half of all infertility cases involve male factors as well. This is why it's important for femtech services and products to reach not just women, but also the men who support them — so that by actually learning about and engaging with these tools, they too can come to understand their necessity. Through this gradual deepening of understanding around women's health, we hope people will come to see that a society that is kinder to women is, ultimately, a society that is kinder to men as well.

Some companies overseas have already begun incorporating femtech services and products into their employee benefits packages, and this movement is expected to grow stronger going forward. In Japan, however, the market has yet to reach the same level of growth seen abroad. One contributing factor may be Japan's overall low awareness of gender issues — as reflected in its ranking of 121st out of 153 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index. In order to live and work free from gender-based disadvantage, it is not enough for individual women to address these challenges alone — men and companies alike need to develop a genuine understanding of them. We hope that femtech products and services can become a broader gateway for each person to turn inward and come to know their own body and mind.

The word "femtech" may still be unfamiliar to many in Japan, but awareness is slowly growing, and proactive femtech initiatives are beginning to take hold. We look forward to a future where even more new services and products enter the market, catching the eyes of many and spreading a collective sense that these are challenges for society as a whole to solve together.

We hope that as femtech shifts the consciousness of society at large, it will help bring about a world where everyone can live as their true selves — and live happily.

 Reference: The Hidden Potential of Femtech: Why Is It Struggling to Take Off in Japan?
 Reference: Global Gender Gap Report 2020