April is Earth Month, so it’s the perfect time to consider the environmental impact of our daily habits, including our Period care routines!
The Reality of Disposable Period Products
The reality is that period products are a necessity, but disposable products are detrimental to the environment.
The average person uses 11,000 pads and/or tampons in a lifetime. This means billions of disposable pads and tampons end up in our landfills, sewer systems, and waterways every year. In fact, Stanford Magazine reports that approximately 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are discarded each year in just the US. Not to mention each disposable product takes up to 800 years to degrade. That’s a long time and a lot of waste.
The environmental burden doesn’t start with the large amounts of plastic waste created by pads and tampons, it begins with the production. Stud
ies report that the average one year supply of period products for a person leaves a carbon footprint of 8.9 kg CO2 equivalents. That is comparable to the carbon footprint of sending 29,000 emails or charging a phone more than 1,000 times.
That’s a lot of waste, now what?
Yeah… that is a ton of waste. Luckily, many brands are creating sustainable period product options that are body safe and planet friendly — including us at Monthly!
Sustainable products are a better option for the planet because they:
-
Reduce Waste: unlike pads & tampons, they can be washed and re-used over and over again
-
Decrease Carbon Footprint: they reduce the environmental burden of producing billions of pads and tampons which use immense amounts of energy and resources, including water and fossil fuels.
-
Have fewer chemicals: disposable pads and tampons often contain synthetic materials and harmful chemicals that can be detrimental to the environment. Sustainable products are usually made with non-toxic and natural materials that are safe for bodies and the environment!
How to make the choice?
Now you know there are options out there for you to have a sustainable period, but you might not know where to start! Our favorite sustainable options are period underwear and menstrual cups. Period underwear are perfect for people that want a sustainable replacement for pads, are looking for comfort, and want to feel like they are wearing nothing. Menstrual cups are usually loved by those that are looking for tampon alternatives that are better for the environment and more body safe. A pro tip for heavy bleeders is to nix doubling up with pads and tampons and instead double up with period underwear and a menstrual cup for an overall sustainable period experience!
You can shop Monthly period underwear here: https://www.shopmonthly.co/
Time for us to choose more sustainable periods!
