TAMPONS

This past Saturday, March 8, was International Women's Day. I asked my boyfriend, "What are you doing for me today?" He studied abroad in Cuba, which, like all communist countries, actually celebrates the holiday. Apparently, it didn't make a big impression on him, though. "Treating you well, just like I do every day" he replied. "Aw, that's sweet," I said, "but in Poland they give the women flowers."*

Clearly, I had to find another way to celebrate. So I put on my comfiest pj's, curled up in bed and read a large portion of Our Bodies Ourselves. One section discussed menstrual products ("sanitary napkins"), and touched very briefly upon their environmental impact, which is huge.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a post about menstruation. PERIODS! TAMPONS! PADS! BLOOD! VAGINA! Ok, I think I've gotten it all out of the way. Hopefully, some of you are still with me, especially the ladies, since this is an International Women's Day special just for us (fellas can read if they want.... if they all haven't abandoned ship by now). I know this is a topic that's considered taboo or at least impolite, embarrassing, or awkward--but it's precisely because people find it hard to talk about that menstrual product activism hasn't taken off. It's because it's not a "sexy" cause that the fairly easily relieved environmental impact is still so great. So let's talk about it.

If you use 20 pads or tampons per period, and have your period once a month from age 12 to 47, that's 8,400 pads and tampons in your lifetime. There are three billion of us (women) on earth, and about 150 million of us in the United States... that's a lot of pads and tampons. Unfortunately, many tampons are flushed down the toilet, which means that tampons (and applicators) often litter the water of our beaches. Many tampon applicators are plastic, which means they don't biodegrade (mainstream tampons biodegrade in six months). Mainstream pads also come wrapped in plastic, and are lined along the bottom in plastic, which means they have a permanent place of honor in our landfills. In addition, those pads and tampons had to come from somewhere- cotton farms that could be left as forests or used to grow corn for biofuel or any number of other products, lessening the burden on the land.

Furthermore, we have the issue of dioxins. The wood pulp used to make mainstream tampons and pads is bleached early in the process. There is no reason for this use of chlorine, which then pollutes the earth, except to make the tampons and pads seem "clean" and "fresh"- the irony is delicious, no? The bleaching process leaves behind dioxins as a byproduct- dioxins are considered by the FDA to be likely cancer-causing agents. The bleach-dioxins add to the dioxins already in the cotton from pesticide use during growth. Our vaginae (Blogger is telling me the Latin plural is correct for vagina) are more sensitive and absorbent than most other parts of our bodies. Why expose them to poisons when we don't have to- why take risks we can easily avoid?

Oh, and did I mention pads increase the risk of yeast infections?

Now, before I talk about solutions, I feel I should 'fess up to something: I am a part of the problem. Yes, I am a mainstreamer, a Tampax and Always woman. I'm helping fill the landfills and possibly poisoning my body in the process. But, after researching these solutions, I am resolved to try at least one of them. Who knows, perhaps in a couple months I'll be able to write an entry about how each possible "solution" to the menstrual product environmental problem feels and functions. I'm all for saving the environment, but I also like wearing bathing suits and playing soccer.

Before I get into each possible solution, here's the link to the Our Bodies Ourselves page about these products. One other note: props to my housemate Emily for having tried many of these products and telling me all about them.

1. The solution that requires the least change but also creates the least change (but a lot better than no change!) is using organic 100% cotton tampons and pads. This gets rid of the chlorine/dioxin problem, and the plastic applicators, wrap, and lining. It doesn't reduce our use of cotton, but it minimizes the environmental effects post-use, because they're 100% biodegradable. Emily says they work well and she's never had a problem with leakage (which I thought might be a concern because there's no plastic lining on the bottom). The pads are a little thicker than mainstream pads, and the cotton can start to separate a little if you've been wearing it for a while or moving around a lot. The tampons are a little drier than mainstream ones. But hey, they're less likely to give you cancer! I saw an Amazon.com listing for a 12 pack of 20-tampon boxes (that's 240 tampons) for about $50. That's a good deal, and let's be honest- we've got pretty good biological evidence that we'll use them all eventually. I'll probably choose to buy some organic cotton tampons and pads, just as a back up in case the other "solutions" I try don't work out in all situations. The devil you know, right?

2. Reusable pads. An example of this is GladRags. They're made out of cloth (you can even make them yourself from old clothing!) and consist of an outer layer that's shaped vaguely like a mainstream, winged pad. the "wings" snap together under your underwear, holding the pad in place, and there's a slot into which you can insert little cloth fillers (about the size and shape of panty-liners). You can put a different number of fillers in (or none) depending on how heavy your flow is that day. There is a bigger reusable pad for overnight. When you want to change it, you just wash out the main pad and the fillers. Apparently they're really comfortable, although they are thick, because they wrap all the way around to snap underneath. Bonus for gardeners and people who don't share bathrooms with others who might get freaked out: if you soak the pad in water in a jar or something before washing it, you can use the menstruation-water to fertilize your garden. It looks like the day pads are around $10-15 each, and the overnight pads are $15-20. You can also make some for yourself for FREE (my favorite word!), if you're up for an environmental craft project. They last for five years, at least. Reusable pads sound really cool to me, especially since you can make them out of recycled materials, but... I do my laundry as rarely as possibly, so I don't know if this is a good choice for me.

3. Cups. Check out keeper.com for more details (and nifty visuals)- Keeper is the most common brand of menstrual cup. It a gum-rubber or silicone (for those allergic to latex) cup with a little stem coming out the bottom. You fold the cup twice, insert it in your vagina, then pull gently down on the stem. It suctions in place and you can even use it while you're swimming. The cup holds about an ounce of fluid- and most women only menstruate four or five ounces. The website says you might end up changing it twice a day (just pull it out--upright--then tip it over into the toilet), but I'd probably empty it each time I was in the bathroom. You can wash it with soap and water, and between periods you can store it in a little cloth bag they give to you. I have no idea how this feels, but the website mentioned that some women choose to cut off up to half of the "stem" for comfort. The Keeper costs $35, lasts for ten years, and is available on their site or in Whole Foods and other stores. I think this is the one I'm going to try first.

4. The Sea Pearl. This is a reusable tampon made out of a sea sponge. Unfortunately, our seas are even more polluted than our land, and that pollution can become concentrated in organisms like sea sponges. Our Bodies Ourselves said that because of this, many women who us the Sea Pearl choose to boil it in water for ten minutes before first use. Elle Bee (EO's resident environmental scientist), please tell me- does that actually work? Does boiling things remove pollutants? Apparently the boiling makes it slightly smaller and less flexible each time you do it. You can clean them by boiling them, soaking them in vinegar, or some other options. They last about six months, and cost about $5 each from GladRags. I don't know anyone who's personally tried sea sponge tampons. I probably won't try it, because of the pollution thing.

That's all I've got. Remember to check out the Our Bodies Ourselves page for more info on these products, as well as others I didn't mention because I'm getting tired. I hope you had a happy International Women's Day!




*Please note: my boyfriend is awesome and this story about him is merely for comedic effect.