Sustainable Options for Menstrual Health

Let’s chat about sustainable  period products for a second, ‘k bestie? The concept of reusable period products may give us the ICK thoughts at first, but as most of us who experience periods know, traditional single-use period products are HELLA wasteful and not to mention harmful!

100 billion of these plastic products are sent to landfills every year. Let’s break that into a smaller metric, if we survey just one person who menstruates, for every cycle in their lifetime, they use approximately 11,000 disposable tampons and pads! For reference, that’s 1,000 pounds of waste in a landfill, where it takes 450 years to decompose. If that number doesn’t gross you out, how about the fact that most of these tampons and pads contain harmful pesticides, carcinogens and other mystery chemicals that are unsafe for the human body! 🤢 

100 billion of these plastic products are sent to landfills every year. Let’s break that into a smaller metric, if we survey just one person who menstruates, for every cycle in their lifetime, they use approximately 11,000 disposable tampons and pads! For reference, that’s 1,000 pounds of waste in a landfill, where it takes 450 years to decompose.

And when I say “unsafe” for the human body, I mean life or death; The consequences of leaving in a tampon in too long comes with a risk of TSS, also know as Toxic Shock Syndrome. Super-absorbent or not, the longer you have a tampon hanging around in your vagina, creates the perfect storm or in this case the perfect breeding ground for staphylococcus bacteria. Other symptoms of not changing tampons regularly are: sudden vomit, shock, rash on palms & soles, fever, diarrhea…and death. Sheesh.

The synthetic materials most responsible for TSS include: CMC, polyacrylate rayon, polyester, and viscose rayon> However, they have all been pulled from shelves, yet tampons still in use today still carry a risk of TSS. So reminder to those not financially able to swap to sustainable products right away– please change tampons and pads every four to eight hours, or you run the risk of TSS.

Now let’s get to the good stuff. In 2020, I bought my first low-waste period products to avoid waste and bodily harm. Over years, it’s saved me $$ from needing to buy monthly disposable ones, it’s allowed me to maximize use and appreciation of Earth’s gifts of cotton and other fibers, and they’ve helped me feel more at ease when on my cycle. Originally it seemed an intimidating task, but after researching period underwear, and period cups and how to insert it (spoiler alert it was very simple), I felt extremely empowered. Changing disposables to reusable menstrual care products has been life-changing for me!

“And when I say 'unsafe for the human' body, I mean life or death”

However, FYI a silicone menstrual cup can still grow bacteria, which is why it is important build the habit of good hygiene. You can avoid bodily harm by washing your hands before and after inserting + removing. It’s 2022 though people, we should be washing regularly anyways. You can wash it with soap and water every 12 hours, and boil it for 10 minutes at the end of every cycle. Easy peasy. 

Some other greats pros is that it is generally recognized as safe to sleep with a cup in without getting up to empty it in the middle of the night, unlike tampons, which have to be changed more frequently. A great company I use for both cups and period undies is Period Aisle. I did my research and a bit on their period undies— they go from XS to 5X, and along with their washable pads, cups, and other extras, they are mostly designed and consciously made in the First Nations territories of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples! While 'conscious consumerism' is not enough alone to create a systemic overhaul, I’ve been feeling that it’s still critical for me to consider how I continue to hand over power to strengthen the centralized, extractive system, and what I can easily do within my means to wean off my reliance. Switching to reusable alternatives for everything over single-use (i,e, menstrual care such as tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) has been a key part of that process that I am constantly working on.

Me with my new period cup from Period Aisle

And because I’m sensitive to the fact that reusables aren’t casually accessible to try for most, I’m honored to be working alongside @periodaisle , an exceptional B-Corp org in gifting 3 special someones their very own Menstrual Cup trial pack too!! 💚


Giveaway Rules on IG✨

1. Must follow my instagram @msnerriss as well as  @periodaisle

2. Comment your fave “time of the month” emoji + tag a friend. 

*Every tag is an extra entry.

Must be 18 & Over. US + Canada only. Must enter before 2/28‼️

*If you can’t wait on the giveaway and want to menstruate w/ intention now, use my code:  ‘NERRISSA15’ for 15% off your first purchase to try the cup. #periodaisle 🎁