Producing, packaging and disposing of sanitary pads, tampons and panty liners creates enormous amounts of waste. Furthermore, these products contain chemicals and plastics which pollute the environment.
Eco-friendly feminine care options have recently increased. Options now exist such as period underwear, menstrual cups, reusable pads and applicator-less tampons – providing more eco-friendly alternatives than ever.
Cloth Pads
Cloth pads can help reduce your waste significantly while simultaneously being much cheaper to purchase and wash, saving both water and energy when compared with disposable pads. While their initial cost may be more, reusable options last much longer and often end up costing less in the long run than purchasing single-use options.
Cloth pads can be purchased from work-at-home moms, health food stores or online vendors. There are different lengths and thicknesses of cloth pads to suit different body types, while certain companies also provide designs or colours with various inserts so the pad remains comfortable during use.
As with any new product, switching to cloth menstrual pads requires some experimentation and adjustment. Some women have reported experiencing staining issues that can be avoided by either pretreating used pads with stain remover or soaking them in cold water before washing. They are more bulky than disposables but this should become second nature over time.
Organic Disposables
Organic cotton and bamboo tampons and panty liners help avoid chemicals like phthalates and bisphenols while simultaneously reducing waste. Although more costly than their conventional counterparts, organic products decompose more rapidly in landfills resulting in lower environmental impact.
On average, women use 11,000 sanitary products over their lifetime–and most of these end up flushed down toilets to pollute lakes and oceans. Plastic period products use non-compostable materials that take 500 years or longer to degrade, releasing harmful chemicals into ecosystems that threaten their health.
Reusable menstrual cups offer an eco-friendly alternative to disposable tampons and pads, absorbing blood externally rather than internally. You can purchase one online; some companies even provide kits including cotton travel wallet, storage tin and set of organic tampons – these cups may cost more than traditional options but you will have one forever, saving money in the long run!
Menstrual Cups
Menstrual cups are constructed of medical-grade silicone or rubber and can be reused up to 10 years, collecting flow instead of absorbing it and thus reducing leakage and waste. Furthermore, they eliminate the need to change tampons every four to 12 hours; wear time can range anywhere between eight hours to twelve.
Menstrual cups come in an assortment of sizes and shapes designed to suit different flows and cervical heights, so finding one suitable can take time but once it does it becomes comfortable and hygienic.
Menstrual cups do cost more up front, but in the long run they could save money by cutting costs associated with pads and tampons – and switching to more sustainable brands could help avoid pink tax altogether.
DAME
Reign Wellness’s organic non-applicator and applicator tampons offer consumers reliable options without compromising sustainability.
Celia Pool and Alec Mills established The Tampon Dame after becoming dissatisfied with all of the period waste in landfills, from applicators to wrappers. Together they developed and created the first ever reusable tampon applicator; once loaded it can be loaded with a tampon before use and rinsed afterward for storage until needed again.
They create eco-friendly pads and tampons made from certified organic cotton that is dye, fragrance and pesticide free, while being part of 1% For The Planet; every ton of carbon emissions they release offset two more through funding environmental nonprofits. Available online and in stores globally Dame is offering SD listeners 15% off their reusable applicator when using code JAYSCOTT15 at checkout!
