Can Switching To Reusable Sanitary Pads Help The Environment?

Not only protect your health and save money but also help the environment all by switching to reusable sanitary pads. Is it that easy? Let’s take a look how does reusable sanitary pads help the environment.

The Plastic in Our Oceans

“Ban the bag! Ban the Straw!”

Are the shouts we are hearing from environmental activists worldwide. Our world and oceans are drowining in plastics and organisations and companies are continually depending on single use packaging, and plastic products as a cheap and disposable option. Our earth deserves better, and our bodies deserve better. Being surrounded by synthetic materials produced by chemicals, which end up in landfills is not the kind of future we want to live in.

There are many things you can do to decrease your plastic footprint on the planet, whether it is quitting plastic straws or signing petitions to your local government representatives. One of the easiest things you can do, is have a look at areas of your life where you use significant amounts of single use products and try find alternatives.

Unfortunately, the female sanitary industry is one of those areas, with commercial tampons and pads being created to be single use and to be thrown out after every use. That is why the tide is changing, and companies such as LUCKYPADS are investing in creating environmentally friendly alternatives to single use hygiene products.

Reusable sanitary pads(also called cloth sanitary pads, cotton sanitary pads and washable sanitary pads) are one of the answers to eliminate waste, as they can be reused, and can save up to 150kg of plastic waste from entering the landfills per person.

Plastic Pollution Statistics

The statistics concerning plastic waste are horrifying, let's have a quick overview:

• The current best approximates suggest there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean.
• 269,000 tons are floating on the surface while the remainder has begun sinking into the deep.
• Shoppers around the world use around 500 billion single-use plastic bags every year, which is roughly a million bags per minute.
• Every year there are 640,000 tons of abandoned fishing gear left in the ocean.
• From the total 8300 million tons of plastic produced since 1950, 5800 million tons of it were only used once. From that 4600 million tons have been discarded with only 100 million tons recycled and 700 million tons incinerated.
• The global plastic production has skyrocketed from nothing in 1950 to 350 million metric tons per year in 2015. It is only expected to keep growing.

What Can You Do?

Chances are if you are reading this article you have already done the simple things that have been suggested by every other eco blogger. You have gotten yourself a reusable water bottle, use a reusable shopping bag, potentially switched to shampoo and conditioner bars, bought a bamboo toothbrush, quit sucking on plastic straws, and became more mindful of plastic packaging.

Plastic, however, is everywhere and soon you will find yourself in a rabbit hole of attempting to buy second-hand clothing and materials, refusing receipts at supermarkets, cooking more and eating out less, depending on your reusable kitchenware, investing in metal reusable razors, and sharing your knowledge with your friends and family. So, what is next? What about the most intimate part of your life? Is it possible to become greener when it comes to your menstrual cycle?

Your Period And The Environment

Ever since you have gotten your period, you would have depended on tampons or pads as your trusty companion every month. Certainly, at the beginning of this journey into womanhood, you did not stop to think twice about where the products came from or went when you threw them into the bin or specialized sanitary disposable unit.

If we consider the average woman, she will go through roughly 11,000 disposable pads or/and tampons in her lifetime. Meaning on average, every menstruating human uses a total of around 125-150kg of menstrual product waste. However, this number is not even limited to the products themselves, but also includes the significant amount of packaging that comes from the individually, hygienically wrapped sanitary products.

As if the waste aspect was not enough, it is important to take into consideration the entire life cycle of the menstrual products.

The Environmental Impact Of Tampons

Tampons are generally created with non-organic cotton which is saturated in pesticides and insecticides. These can be harmful to the surroundings where the cotton is grown.  And you know, cotton is also an extremely water-intensive crop, with almost 3 liters of water required to grow one single cotton bud. The process of manufacturing each tampon also includes energy resources and chemically intensive methods. Tampons contain chemicals including dioxin, chlorine, and rayon, which are not ideal to have in or near your intimate areas. Once tampons have been used and discarded, these chemicals continue to leach pollution into groundwater and air once they end up in the landfill.

On a side note, some women are still flushing period products down the toilet. In the UK two billion sanitary products are flushed into the sewage systems causing 75% of drain blockages. This requires enormous manpower, and financial costs to fix these avoidable problems.

The Environmental Impact Of Disposable Pads

Disposable pads, Although producers are generally reluctant to reveal the exact composition of their products, the main materials will usually be bleached rayon (cellulose made from wood pulp), cotton and plastics. In addition, fragrance and antibacterial agents can be included. The plastic parts are the back sheet and polymer powder as an additional powerful absorbent (super absorbent polymers) that turns into a gel when moistened. Click here to know more about Disposable pads.

Polyethylene can stay in the soil for 1000 years. This means, for 1000 years this plastic can leach toxicity into the water and earth, block biodegrading processes, increase soil temperatures, and block crops from growing in the area. If the plastic gets into the ocean, it can break down into microplastics which means it enters the food chain and can potentially kill a whole range of marine life. Whales, marine birds, turtles, and sharks have all fallen prey to plastic pollution in the ocean.

Eliminating your dependence on single-use menstrual products can therefore significantly help both the environment along with your health.

Consider this: in the United States alone, 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons enter the landfills annually.

A Green Period Product Alternative

Thankfully, the increase in the eco-conscious movement has seen people looking for less environmentally taxing options when it comes to their monthly cycle. The reusable menstrual products like Menstrual Cup and Reusable Sanitary Pads were developed as an eco-friendly alternative to the disposable pads and tampons, while reusable menstrual products can eliminate polyurethane-based single-use pads currently available on the market.

Menstrual Cup

There are several menstrual cups available on the market, which are made from medical grade silicone and can be reused for years. The lifespan of the cup means it can replace up to 2400 pads and tampons per user. Imagine the pile of single-use period products on one hand and one simple small silicone cup on the other hand. Is silicone a sustainable option? Studies have shown that the material which originates from silica, which is a type of sand, does degrade into its original form without damaging the environment. Menstrual cups are also easy to use, versatile, come in different sizes, and ideal for the active woman.

But, In terms of sanitation, the menstrual cup needs to be boiled in hot water in between uses to eliminate potentially harmful bacteria that could accumulate.

Furthermore, For those of you who are new to the period game, it’s best not to overcomplicate things. Menstrual cups can be a bit daunting for newbies on her first period. so reusable sanitary pads would be the best period pads on the market to newbies.

Reusable Sanitary Pads

For those of us who prefer a simpler, more familiar option, to support you through your menstrual cycle, then LUCKYPADS is the solution for you! LUCKYPADS are reusable organic cotton sanitary pads. we guarantee no residue of harmful chemicals will encounter your sensitive skin. Them being unbleached, undyed, and chemical-free means they are better for your body along with the environment. Replacing your single-use pads with LUCKYPADS can help you save thousands of single-use plastics from entering landfills or potentially the ocean. They are more comfortable, eliminate the plasticky sound when walking, and have nothing but organic cotton touching your private areas.

LUCKYPADS are leakproof due to their thin thermoplastic polyurethane layer situated in between the two layers of organic cotton. This material has been found to degrade after 3-5 years in the soil. And also comes in 7 different sizes, giving you the option to choose any option from a thin pantyliner to a thick and dependable night pad. On top of the size variety, there is a wide range of patterns to choose from to make sure you are feeling cute during your time of the month.

Reusable Sanitary Pads Are The Future

Whether you are opting for reusable sanitary pads due to health concerns, environmental impacts, or even saving money by investing once rather than monthly, you will not regret choosing LUCKYPADS as your trustee companion. Turn your cycle into a beautiful experience in harmony with your body and nature by eliminating chemicals, single-use, and environmental guilt of using up to 150kg of easily replaceable waste.

Now, do you know how switching to reusable sanitary pads help the environment? Convinced to give reusable sanitary pads a try?