Eco-Friendly Menstruation

In recent years, the drive towards individual ecological responsibility has been vast and far-reaching, and people all over the world, including a significant number of Pagans, have started recycling their bottles and paper, planting trees, cleaning up the coast-line, and using re-usable nappies on their children. Many Pagan, and even non-Pagan parents feel that they are significantly reducing their waste levels by steering clear of disposable nappies, which usually take around 10 years to decompose, and contain quite a few chemicals which are harmful to the environment. The damage caused to the Earth through disposable nappies is horrifying, but the even scarier thought comes when we compare disposable nappies and disposable sanitary products. On average, a woman menstruates for around 96 days a year, and uses between 2 and 7 sanitary towels a day. The figure is around 4 to 8 per day for tampons. That means that we buy and throw away around 384 pads/tampons each year (96 multiplied by 4) for around 30 years of our lives. I don't even want to think about how many pads/tampons we use in those 30 years! In comparison, babies only use nappies for around 3 years. The shocking fact is, all that plastic and 'cotton' used in our monthly sanitary products takes a long time to decompose, and whilst it is decomposing, it, like disposable nappies, gives off less-than-desirable chemicals. Even if we dispose of the products in the bin instead of down the toilet (which means they usually end up in the sea or on the beach), they still end up injuring the environment. The sheer volume of sanitary products being disposed of also adds to the damage, as our landfill sites decrease in size and we slowly run out of space to dump our rubbish.

Now, this article is not trying to make you feel guilty for using disposable sanitary products. After all, it is a highly personal choice, and some women will just never like the alternatives to disposable products. This article is merely giving you an idea of the alternatives available to you.

On a more practical note, women spend extortionate amounts of money on sanitary products each month. And because they are considered to be 'luxury items' by the government, we have the priveledge of paying VAT on top of the already high prices. By using re-usable towels or alternatives, you have to spend considerably less money.

There is also a scarily high rate of TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) amongst tampon users, and you may be surprised to find out that tampons are not made of pure cotton: They do contain chemicals which could be dangerous, including bleach, as do most disposable towels. Many women have also said that wearing re-usable towels is a lot comfier than disposable ones: After all, would you rather sit on padded plastic or on soft terry-towelling? Tampons also deposit fibres in the walls of the vagina, and indiscriminately absorb all your vagina's natural moisture, not just the blood, causing a dry environment that can be bad for your health.

Given all the above reasons why women may turn to alternatives, an introduction to those alternatives wouldn't go amiss!

Re-usable Pads

There are towelling pads, shaped almost exactly the same as disposable pads, sometimes with wings. You can buy them quite cheaply over the internet, or you could try making them yourself: Simply trace the outline of your preferred disposable pad shape onto absorbent material such as Terry Towelling, which you can buy at all Mothercare stores. You will usually need a thickness of around 8-ply if you have heavy periods, but 4-ply can suffice otherwise. You can always make a mixture of thicknesses for different times during your period, including some very small 2-ply pads to perhaps replace panty-liners. When you've got the outline, cut it out, and sew it together with the stitching quite close to the edge. Any wings you have don't need to be the same thickness as the pad itself, as long as they are attached to it, so you could try tracing 7-ply without wings, and the 8th layer (the middle one for ease of use) with wings.

You can use these pads as you would disposable ones, except that you wash them instead of throwing them away. And since you're most likely to wash them bulk instead of individually, you may want to buy/make around 10-16 pads of different thicknesses to last you the duration of your period. Using a little lemon juice when you wash the pads also guards against discolouration and unpleasant smells.

Initially, you may have to pay quite a bit of money to make/buy re-usable towels, but in the long run it turns out much cheaper. The woman I know who made her own has been using her pads for 7 years, and they're still going strong!

Sea-sponge Tampon

These are surprisingly popular even in the UK, and I recently came across a place in Glastonbury that sold them for around £7 each. These discreet and healthy alternatives to tampons are made of naturally grown and harvested sea-sponge. Nothing else, no chemicals, strings, etc are added, and nothing is taken away. They really are totally organic. Because of this, you run no risk of contracting TSS from using them.

Using them couldn't be simpler. Just moisten the tampon with a little warm water, and use it as you would a disposable tampon. There are no strings, because you do not need it: The tampon will not move from where you put it, and you can easily remove it with thumb and forefinger because it doesn't go as deeply inside you as a disposable tampon does.

The sea sponge tampon just needs a rinse after use to make it perfectly clean and ready for use again. You may however want to buy 3 or 4 of them, as rinsing one out in public toilets for instance is not the most enjoyable experience, and other people's feelings need to be considered. Buying 3-4 means if you carry a couple round with you, as well as a plastic bag, when one is used and you find you cannot rinse it out in private, you can put that one in the plastic bag ready to be rinsed later, and use a clean one.

These tampons are just as durable as the re-usable pads, unless you treat them roughly; if you do, then they will tear and break just as a bath sponge would.

Mooncup

This alternative takes a little more courage to use, since it is a very steep learning curve, yet you may be surprised to learn that it has been around since the 1930's. The Mooncup is a smallish silicone cup, which is inserted open-end first, and which then catches all the bloodflow inside it. It can be a little tricky to get used to, as you have the joy of finding out how often you need to empty the cup! They are inexpensive in the long run, since one Mooncup costs £17.99, and you really only need one to last you the period. They are also very durable: a friend of mine has had hers nearing 10 years, and it is showing very little wear and tear.

The silicone used in the Mooncup is made of entirely natural substances, and is body-friendly: it is the same silicone that is used for heart valves and in other surgery. It also has the advantage of being discreet (you cannot feel it at all if it is inserted properly), and healthy. It has no chemicals to harm you, and allows your vaginal environment its natural moisture (unlike tampons that absorb it all.) Women who use the Mooncup as an alternative to tampons have also found that their menstrual cramps have lessened, and women who use the Mooncup as an alternative to pads have found it considerably comfier and freer. If you are still a virgin however using the Mooncup will break your hymen, so it is not advised that you use it in those circumstances, and it also comes it two different sizes: a larger size for the woman who has given birth vaginally, and a smaller size for the woman who has not.

I have just had my first experience with the Mooncup and cannot recommend it more highly! I switched from pads to Mooncup, which was a very scary experience at first: I was afraid I would 'lose' it, that it wasn't inserted properly, that it would leak... But now I have gotten used to it (after a few trial runs) I love it. I feel a lot comfier and freer, and do not need to carry my handbag to the toilet with me, nor do I have to remember to carry replacement pads with me. I can also wear the tightest trousers I like and nobody will notice a thing - unlike pads that I was always paranoid would show through trousers. It is also a lot less messy than pads or tampons, and once you get over the 'Eurgh!' reaction that most women have when they hear about the Mooncup, this alternative is wonderful. (And they are actually no messier than inserting a non-applicator tampon.) To make it even better, you can trial run your Mooncup for 3 full cycles, and if you are not happy with it you can send it back and the Mooncup company will fully refund you. (Don't worry, they don't re-sell the used Mooncups! They punch holes in them and use them as examples to show people at their various events.)

If you are worried about the sea-sponge tampon or Keeper-Cup leaking, you can always wear a 2- to 4-ply re-usable pad as well, until you get used to the methods and know when you need to change the tampon/rinse out the cup. Unfortunately, these alternatives are difficult to find, especially the Mooncup and Sea-Sponge tampon. You may come across a shop every now and then that sells them, though so far I have only found one shop for the Cup in London, and one for the sponge in Glastonbury. The alternative to travelling hundreds of miles would be the internet. If you don't have a credit card, maybe you could find a friend who has, or use Paypal, postal orders, or an international money order if the company is overseas.

Below are some reliable websites which sell the above three methods:

http://www.homestead.com/naturesprimalmother/index.html
Re-usable pads made by two very trustworthy women.

http://www.jadeandpearl.com/
Sea-sponge tampons.

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/
This site also has an FAQ, so any questions you have about the Cup will be answered there.

http://www.luna.tasman.net/
Re-usable pads again.

http://www.mooncup-info.com/copyright.htm
More information on the Mooncup, focussing on its environmental and health benefits.

Whatever your decision, I hope I have made people aware that there are other options available in this throw-away society. We are not bound solely to the methods placed upon us, and we can certainly do something extra to reduce the problem of waste and environmental damage. And, whatever alternative you choose, if any, be happy in the knowledge that you're not alone: It is surprising how many women these days actually use the above methods, all of them saying basically the same thing: thank goodness for the alternatives!