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http://www.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20101213-252464.html
Mon, Dec 13, 2010
The New Paper
A new 'direction' for women
[Above: New portable device helps women pee standing. It comes in handy for travellers, pregnant women & those hoping to avoid sitting down on dirty toilet seats.]
P-mate help women pee standing
By Clarence Chen
HAS the day come when women can finally pee standing up?
One device called the P-mate allows women to do that.
Made from recycled cardboard, it acts like a funnel, allowing women to urinate directionally.
The disposable device, which is imported from the Netherlands, is meant for one-time use.
It retails for a dollar a piece.
The P-mate, which looks like a folded paper aeroplane, was showcased at the recent three-day Let's Observe Ourselves or Loo carnival organised by The Restroom Association (Singapore).
The idea may sound like a winner, but will the P-mate fly here?
Qool Enviro, a company which rents and sells portable toilets, is hopeful it will.
Assistant sales manager Cynthia Teo said Singapore women who are frequent travellers or are pregnant will be receptive to this product.
But she admits that it would be easier for the product to break into the Western market as women there are more open-minded compared to those in Asian countries who tend to be more conservative.
The device was first introduced at the annual Beerfest Asia at the Marina Promenade in June.
Then, Beerfest goers could try the P-mate for any amount they wished to donate, proceeds of which went to Bright Hill Evergreen Home.
Ms Low Seow Yee, 32, a publicist for Beerfest Asia, said: "It was a win-win situation. The queue for the ladies at Beerfest is always long and the P-mate helped to reduce queue times to a certain extent."
She added that the feedback was good among the more adventurous ones who tried the product. One of them was student Michelle Lim, 20.
She said: "It was liberating and I finally know how it feels like to be a guy (to urinate while standing).
"It gets really annoying having to clean the toilet seat each time I have to use it so I really love this product."
Another "adventurous customer" was a 20-year-old student who wanted to be known only as Debbie.
She said she was surprised at how well the product worked but felt it would appeal only to the young as they would be more open to try new products.
She doubted that someone like her mother would use it.
Currently, the P-mate is sold at Rehab King, a shop selling home-care and rehabilitation products, in Bukit Merah.
Its owner, Mr Ronnie Loh, in his 60s, said most of his customers who buy the P-mate are frequent travellers under 35.
"People usually buy it for its convenience and it's especially useful for patients who have problems squatting (if there is a squat toilet)," Mr Loh added, saying that he sells about 100 units every month.
Qool hopes to launch an online store soon.
Ms Teo also hopes to introduce the P-mate at more outdoor events.
Ms Annie Tan, 55, who spotted the P-mate at the Loo carnival, said: "I think that this product is very interesting and I might consider using it if I really need to.
"It will come in handy especially when I am travelling in a less developed country where the toilets aren't so clean."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Mon, Dec 13, 2010
The New Paper
A new 'direction' for women
[Above: New portable device helps women pee standing. It comes in handy for travellers, pregnant women & those hoping to avoid sitting down on dirty toilet seats.]
P-mate help women pee standing
By Clarence Chen
HAS the day come when women can finally pee standing up?
One device called the P-mate allows women to do that.
Made from recycled cardboard, it acts like a funnel, allowing women to urinate directionally.
The disposable device, which is imported from the Netherlands, is meant for one-time use.
It retails for a dollar a piece.
The P-mate, which looks like a folded paper aeroplane, was showcased at the recent three-day Let's Observe Ourselves or Loo carnival organised by The Restroom Association (Singapore).
The idea may sound like a winner, but will the P-mate fly here?
Qool Enviro, a company which rents and sells portable toilets, is hopeful it will.
Assistant sales manager Cynthia Teo said Singapore women who are frequent travellers or are pregnant will be receptive to this product.
But she admits that it would be easier for the product to break into the Western market as women there are more open-minded compared to those in Asian countries who tend to be more conservative.
The device was first introduced at the annual Beerfest Asia at the Marina Promenade in June.
Then, Beerfest goers could try the P-mate for any amount they wished to donate, proceeds of which went to Bright Hill Evergreen Home.
Ms Low Seow Yee, 32, a publicist for Beerfest Asia, said: "It was a win-win situation. The queue for the ladies at Beerfest is always long and the P-mate helped to reduce queue times to a certain extent."
She added that the feedback was good among the more adventurous ones who tried the product. One of them was student Michelle Lim, 20.
She said: "It was liberating and I finally know how it feels like to be a guy (to urinate while standing).
"It gets really annoying having to clean the toilet seat each time I have to use it so I really love this product."
Another "adventurous customer" was a 20-year-old student who wanted to be known only as Debbie.
She said she was surprised at how well the product worked but felt it would appeal only to the young as they would be more open to try new products.
She doubted that someone like her mother would use it.
Currently, the P-mate is sold at Rehab King, a shop selling home-care and rehabilitation products, in Bukit Merah.
Its owner, Mr Ronnie Loh, in his 60s, said most of his customers who buy the P-mate are frequent travellers under 35.
"People usually buy it for its convenience and it's especially useful for patients who have problems squatting (if there is a squat toilet)," Mr Loh added, saying that he sells about 100 units every month.
Qool hopes to launch an online store soon.
Ms Teo also hopes to introduce the P-mate at more outdoor events.
Ms Annie Tan, 55, who spotted the P-mate at the Loo carnival, said: "I think that this product is very interesting and I might consider using it if I really need to.
"It will come in handy especially when I am travelling in a less developed country where the toilets aren't so clean."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
