Bleed Green: Sustainability and the Period Product Industry
Did you know that your period is a major pollutant?
Of course, it’s not your actual period that is a pollutant —but the products you use to “handle it” most certainly are.
The Math
An average menstruating person has between 450 and 500 periods in their lifetime. In a lifetime, it’s expected that a person who menstruates will use between 5 000 and 15 000 pads or tampons. Onetime-use-only period products, their packaging and wrapping, generate more than 200 000 metric tons of waste annually, with plastic and non-compostable materials in period products taking between 500 and 800 years to decompose.
Take a second to consider what the numbers really mean.
Your plastic period
The “classic period products” such as tampons and pads contain a significant amount of plastic. Not only is this bad for your health — it’s not good for the planet either. Conventional menstrual pads are estimated to be made of up to 90% plastic, and a pack of menstrual pads is estimated to be the equivalent of four plastic bags.
Females make up around half of the human population. Taking into consideration that not all biological women menstruate due to various health conditions or medical menstruation blockers, as well as the fact that not all those who menstruate have regular access to period products, this still comes down to staggering numbers pollution-wise.
We keep talking about plastic straws and cups, but as usual, we omit what is right in front of us because of the shame and stigma that surrounds menstruating. It’s high time we stopped shying away from conversations about periods. The benefits of brining menstruation into mainstream conversation are numerous, but this Earth Day I’d like to focus on a particular one: making our periods more sustainable.
Make Your Periods Green
It’s unsurprising that because periods are a social taboo, the “menstruation industry” is the last to be looked at when it comes to worldwide pollutants or the plastic epidemic. It might be surprising to many, though, that the answers to the problem of “period pollution” are pretty simple.
A big part of the menstrual activism agenda is creating biodegradable, healthy products which benefit both your body and the environment. On top of that, the innovative solutions which activists around the world have been pioneering in the last decade are anti-consumerist in their reusable nature, which puts serious money-saving for the menstruator on the long list of benefits.
The environmentally friendly top 3:
Menstrual Cup
- Made out of biodegradable medical silicone (healthiest material for your body, healthy material for the planet)
- Collects only blood, no other juices — your natural secretion necessary for a healthy vagina stays intact (unlike in the case of tampons which suck everything up, hurting your vagina in the long haul)
- The cup can hold 5 times more blood than a tampon can, making you rest more easily
- The cup goes nowhere near your cervix. Instead, it lays gently at the opening of your vagina, making it a more comfortable choice for people who suffer from endometriosis, adenomyosis, or have recently had surgeries in the cervical area.
- The cup can last up to 5 years if you clean it properly and regularly
Period Panties
- Menstrual panties look and feel like normal underwear, with only the very middle part being a multi-layered area
- The underwear is super absorbent, has a layer of materials which wick moisture, and a layer which prevents odors
- Depending on the model, the panties can retain up to 5 regular tampons’ worth of fluid
- They are reusable for several years
- They are recycled, with cotton as the central material
- Depending on your flow and the day of your cycle, one pair can be worn for up to 24 hours
- NOTE: Most of this information comes from my personal favorite brand, THINX. This is an unpaid add. However, this is also a warning — if you choose another brand, make sure you ask the relevant questions before purchase.
Organic Pads and Tampons
- Just like the pads and tampons you’re used to, organic period products function in much the same way — without all the waste, as they are biodegradable.
- Organic menstrual pads are washable and reusable.
- Organic menstrual products are made out of 100% cotton, but what you should really look for is what they’re bleached with. Only those (both tampons and pads) which have been bleached with peroxide are actually biodegradable and good for the environment. Read the ingredients, and if they’re not listed — there certainly is a reason for it!
All change is daunting, but a switch to “green bleeding” has multiple benefits for both personal health and hygiene, and for our planet.
On top of being biodegradable and putting a significant dent in the plastic epidemic, sustainable period products have the benefit of being reusable and long-lasting, which makes a big difference to your annual period budget (have you ever sat down to try and calculate how much menstruating costs you?). On top of that, organic period products are comfortable, reliable, reusable, leak proof. You can also choose to support smaller businesses ran by women, and support female entrepreneurship this way, too!
Good for your body, good for your budget, good for the planet. What’s your excuse not to start bleeding green today?!
