The Feminist Debate: Menstrual Products
by
Julia
Schopick
zone3
When ecologically-minded feminists debate their menstrual product
options, they most often advocate using organic cotton tampons and pads,
rather than those made from synthetic materials like rayon. The reason
most of these women choose the organic cotton versions centers around the
fact that the synthetics have been linked to potential health hazards,
such as Toxic Shock Syndrome and dioxin exposure.
One option that
is often left out of such discussions (as well as media programs and
articles) is reusable menstrual products. The truth is, before tampons and
throwaway menstrual pads came on the market in the 1930s, women used rags,
which were kind to the environment because they were washable and hence,
reusable. It wasn't until the '30s, and in the years since then, that more
and more ecologically-minded women began to discover that they had cause
for concern.
After all, it is extremely wasteful to use a product
for just a few hours and then toss it. And according to most estimates,
the average woman will use nearly 12,000 of these products during her
lifetime. That's quite a lot of garbage!
Whether you flush a tampon
or pad down the toilet, or throw it in the garbage, it is going to be
problematic for the environment. If flushed down the toilet, these
products can clog the sewer line; or they can go on to play havoc with the
water treatment plant. (I understand that in 9 out of 10 plumbing problems
in apartment buildings, homes and offices, the culprits are reusable
menstrual products!)
When you throw them in the garbage, these
reusables end up in landfills, where they probably won't biodegrade for
many years, because they lack light, water and circulating air. (Did you
know that people have dug into landfills and found newspapers from 50
years earlier that are still readable?) And experts estimate that plastic
tampon applicators may actually take 300 to 500 years to break down. But
since tampons have only been around for seventy years, we can't yet be
positive exactly how long the applicators will take to
biodegrade.
So what's the answer for the ecologically-conscious
menstruating woman? Reusable menstrual products, of course. Instead of a
tampon, women can use the earth-friendly, reusable menstrual cup, called
The Keeper, made from gentle rubber, similar to the rubber that is used to
make baby bottle nipples. Besides being easy on the environment, The
Keeper is easy on the pocketbook; one cup should last up to 10 years. And
since it is made of rubber, rather than of an absorbent fibrous material,
such as rayon, it can be worn up to 12 hours before being emptied. On
heavy days, you may want to change it more often. The fact that The Keeper
is not made of rayon, or any other synthetic material, also reduces the
potential for Toxic Shock Syndrome and eliminates dioxin exposure. (Are
you aware that the FDA does not require manufacturers of tampons or pads
to list their products' ingredients in or on the box?)
But some
women want a reusable - but not an insertable - menstrual product. The
answer: reusable menstrual pads like Glad Rags, made from organic cotton
that, like The Keeper, can be used for years and will be friendly to the
environment.
For these reasons, reusable menstrual products are
probably THE MOST ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY OF ALL!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more information, please contact the Marketing Director of The
Keeper, Inc., Julia Schopick at 708-848-4788, or email her at
Julia@thekeeperinc.com. Or please visit The Keeper website at
http://www.thekeeperinc.com.
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