On average, a woman has her period once a month, for 5 days, about 40 years of her life. During this time, you have to use various products, stay clean and fresh. It is a huge market. The tampon and sanitary napkin industry is a $ 718 million market, and tampons and sanitary napkins are basic necessities for women. What ethical value is behind this?
Commercial tampons and sanitary pads - a small x-ray
Cheaply made feminine pads and tampons from rayon and bleached plastics are mass-produced and heavily marketed. Why is it that we never see advertisements for safer alternatives, such as cotton products, washable reusable pads, and menstrual cups? Any of these alternatives are much cheaper and are many times safer for the environment and for your body, since there are potential risks for the use of generic products for menstruation.
Almost all sanitary pads and tampons are made from bleached rayon, cotton, and plastic, how safe do you think that material is to be in or very close to the vagina? In addition, these products leave fibers in the vagina that can cause vaginal infections, and toxic shock syndrome. Tampons are also known to absorb the natural fluids and bacteria that the vagina produces to stay clean and healthy.
Let's look at the # 1 ingredient in generic tampons and sanitary napkins: rayon. Rayon is a fiber that is made from cellulose fibers, cellulose is a natural fiber, but the chemical procedures that are necessary to produce rayon include: carbon sulfide, sulfuric acid, chlorine, and caustic soda.
Side effects from exposure to excess rayon can include: nausea, vomiting, chest pain, headache, and many others. Rayon is not only found in tampons and towels, but in a lot of clothing that is made from it as well. Sanitary napkins also contain some plastic, which doesn't allow enough airflow 'down there' to in turn also cause a number of infections.Tampons and sanitary napkins are also bleached with chlorine , resulting in dioxin production, which is linked to breast cancer, endometriosis, suppression of the immune system, and various other ailments.
menstrual cup
A menstrual cup is a good option for an alternative to tampons and pads. It is a flexible silicone cup that is inserted into the vagina. Essentially this cup captures all the blood and is emptied every 12 hours during your cycle and reinserted.
If it's been inserted and pulled out correctly there's no reason you ever have to actually touch the blood, but even if you do, what's wrong with it? It's your own blood, just wash your hands, and voila.
It may take a few cycles to get a better understanding of how to use one of these cups, but once you do, you will think you wish you had started much earlier. It is recommended that you continue to use menstrual towels or cloth liners until you have mastered the insertion technique, just in case. Not only are you going to save a ton of money through a menstrual cup, but you're going to do the environment and your health a huge favor.
Think about it, if an average of women uses around 17,000 pads or tampons during their entire menstruation period, multiply that by 3.5 million women in the world, do the math. Another great thing about using menstrual cups is that many women have reported less severe cramps during their period. I know that this alone would encourage some women to make this change. Some brands of menstrual cups are: DivaCup, Mooncup, LadyCup and Lunette, among many others.
Other eco-friendly alternatives to tampons and sanitary pads
There are also reusable towels that are made from safe materials that come with washable highly absorbent inserts to accommodate all different flow levels. These would be a great option for women who don't like insert products. These reusable "pads" are made with breathable materials safe to keep your intimate area healthy, and leak-free, you can even make your own towels.
There is one last alternative to generic tampons and the like. There are some companies that make organic cotton products with no leaching chemicals, and no synthetic materials behind. These can still absorb natural fluids and while they are not yet the best for the environment, at least cotton is a more natural substance that can biodegrade much faster and safer.
This is good information for you to make health considerations for the products you buy and the environmental risks that are associated with the use of them, in this case commercial sanitary napkins and tampons. There are many websites that provide information with reviews on all these products, do your own research and find what is right for you and your lifestyle.
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