Eco-Centered Menstrual Life
Eco-Centered Menstrual Life
I feel passionate about the need to reconnect our menstrual life with the natural rhythms of the earth. This involves moving away from conventional menstrual products and replacing with products that can help return our blood to the earth without damaging the ecosystem in the process.
Here are just a few reasons why conventional period products have recklessly contributed to pollution:
Pads contain up to 90% plastic, and one pack of pads is equivalent to 4 plastic bags
Tampons also have plastic, even in the string, and contain polyethylene, and polypropylene
The rest of a pad is comprised of wood pulp
The rest of a tampon contains conventional cotton, rayon, or a combination
The carbon footprint of menstrual products is 5.3kg CO2 equivalent per year
4.8 pieces of menstrual waste are found per 100 meters of beach cleaned
Pads, panty-liners, backing strips, tampons and their applicators all contribute to this waste
The average person throws away up to 441 lbs of. menstrual products in their lifetime
Menstrual products will take an average of 500 years to break down, or 7 times the lifetime of the person using them
Tampons may also have undisclosed toxic chemicals including carbon disulfide (a known reproductive toxin), rayon, toluene and xyline, and methylene chloride (a lethal chemical found in paint strippers)
Synthetic fragrances can be made up of 3900 chemicals which are carcinogens, allergens, irritants, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Menstrual products are the only products meant to soak up blood that contain an added fragrance
What are some more eco-friendly options for menstruation?
Free bleed - Shake the taboo that you need to collect your blood at all by bleeding into an old towel or other menstrual mat
Compost your blood - collect your blood and add water to dilute. feed it to your plants or a nearby tree
Switch to period underwear and reusable pads - wring these out with water to collect blood for composting
Switch to menstrual cups - simply boil to sterilize each month
Switch to organic/compostable tampons - you want 100% organic cotton
Any combination of these strategies can help reduce your personal contribution to menstrual product pollution. However, you should never feel like it is all on you to fix this problem. We need to hold conventional menstrual product companies accountable and use public opinion to sway them to provide better safe and biodegradable products.
Disposable vs Reusable - Water Crisis and Menstruation
Although it may be tempting to simply say that reusable menstrual products are the answer, and that we should stop using disposable products, the implementation of this is complex and must be given careful consideration. In addition to strong menstrual taboos which exist all over the world, there is a global water crisis which affects millions of menstruating people throughout their menstrual life. Access to clean water is critical to maintaining clean and safe reusable menstrual products. If we are to approach menstrual sustainability, it must include a radical commitment to ending the world water crisis. There may be instances where organic, fully biodegradable, disposable menstrual products are better indicated for use in certain conditions. This is just one of the ways in which menstruation intersects with other serious human rights issues.
Menstrual products and disabilities
Another important aspect to consider in menstrual equity is how to best serve people with disabilities. Autistic people have a particularly difficult time with conventional tampons and pads related to the textures and fragrances of these products. Alternatives to conventional menstrual products may offer better relief for managing sensory input. When we consider how to center the environment in our menstrual life we must consider the needs of all menstruating people!
Better for health = better for the environment
Ultimately everything we consume or use is on a spectrum of the total environmental footprint, not necessarily just "good" or "bad". Often times, what is better for our individual health mirrors what is better for the environment, but not always. I'll briefly discuss the facts about each of these options that are marketed as "eco-friendly" options
Period underwear and reusable pads - You'll definitely get many uses out of your period underwear or reusable pads, reducing your environmental impact considerably. But do your due diligence when researching your purchase. Companies like Thinx have had reports of toxic PFAS and other chemicals in their period underwear. Always wash your period underwear well before using it.
Menstrual cups - Similarly, you'll get years of use out of one single menstrual cup, reducing or eliminating your need for single use products. Medical grade silicone is considered relatively safe. However, studies have refuted that silicone is completely inert, and that it may have some endocrine disruption effect. One other huge downside to the eco-friendly marketing of menstrual cups is that silicone is not immediately recyclable. Now there are initiatives to recycle menstrual cups into other products like playgrounds, and athletic grounds covers. Other people burn or cut up their menstrual cup into tiny pieces and distribute outside, as its main component is silica (sand)
Organic tampons - Plastic free, cotton only tampons are 100% biodegradable, and you should compost them whenever possible to help reduce their life cycle. Unfortunately, organic cotton has pretty high water usage demands which must be considered in their environmental footprint. Also note that organic cotton may still go through a dye process, which introduces other harsh chemicals. Make sure your organic cotton tampons note that they are plastic-free and dye-free.