Have you ever wondered how much trash you’ve accumulated throughout your life? Well as women, we unfortunately have thrown away a lot to the dumpsters for something we don’t have much control over – menstruation.
By Nicole Weber
On one ordinary day in 2015, Ocean Conservancy, a non-profit environment advocacy group, managed to collect nearly 28,000 used tampons on beaches around the world.
From around the age of 12 to the mid 50’s, women everywhere menstruate once a month.
For something that will happen over 400 times in someone’s life, not many options are available to women to choose from in the market.
Over 45 billion of sanitary products are thrown away each year, according to Change to Green, a company that sells eco-friendly items.
Melissa Pardoe, 35, a part-time nurse and owner of spoiledsewrotten from Ontario, Canada, took the issue into her own hands. She discovered cloth pads about two years ago, when she realised that disposable ones were costing too much, and producing a lot more unnecessary waste.
Thankfully, there many options available for women apart from cloth pads. Silicone cups are another popular choice, with well-known products including the Moon Cup and the Diva Cup.
There are lots of benefits that come along with using these eco-friendly alternatives from health to comfort. “They don’t crinkle during movement, stick to tender places, or cause rashes,” said Pardoe.
As a starting point it might be a good idea to “buy four or five light pads from a shop and try them first, If using them is too gross or difficult, then there into much invested in them”, Pardoe said. The next step would be to trying out the silicone cups, or the other options available in the market.
The silicone cups can be worn up to 12 hours, so if you’re on the go, this might be a better option for you says Amanda Hearn, a representative from Put a Cup In It. Not only is it better for the environment, but it's also better for women in general, she said.
“Tampons absorb a lot more than menstrual fluid. They also absorb natural moisture, which can be drying and irritating. .. Cups however do not absorb and cannot leave anything behind.”
While many women may feel intimidated by these cups, most women wish they’ve discovered them sooner, says Hearn. “We’ve never had anyone tell us they wish they had never tried it,” she said.
These products can easily be found in zero waste shops online and in instagram, and they’re surely worth a try, especially if you want to lessen your impact in the environment!
