Once per month, every woman must deal with her period. For decades, several generations of women grew accustomed to managing their period with just two alternative solutions: tampons and pads. However, we live in an age where generating even more thrash is not sustainable anymore. The environment is on the verge of collapse, and many women feel terribly at the idea of being forced to use polyethylene plastic-containing products that will significantly contribute to global pollution.
Menstrual cups have been touted as a convenient, eco-friendly innovation that could represent a revolutionary invention. Although you can reduce your environmental impact with other solutions such as reusable tampons and pads, menstrual cups are way more comfortable to wear and use. Here are a few reasons why switching to this new solution may be a really good idea.
They don’t leave a paper trail
Did you know that there are over 20 billion disposable menstrual products piled up in landfills across North America alone? On average, a woman needs to use about 20 tampons for every period, for a total of 240 tampons per year. Most women will have to deal with roughly 400 periods over the course of their lives, for a whopping total of 8,000 tampons (or pads) that will end up in some trash can.
Each tampon has its own wrapper, and both solutions come packed in plastic packages, which will further contribute to the amount of waste produced. All this stuff contains dioxin and polyethylene plastic, but even if they’re made of recyclable materials, they still need to be recycled in the first place. With menstrual cups all this waste is gone – and our landfills won’t be so full as they are right now.
Needs changing less often
Menstrual cups are kinda fire-and-forget bullets. You don’t need to change them so frequently during the day or night. They’re so comfortable that you will probably forget you’re wearing one of them at all. A standard menstrual cup requires 10-12 hour before it’s full and needs to be emptied – that’s roughly twice the maximum wear time of most standard tampons and pads.
Safe, healthy, and easy to use
Menstrual cups are amazingly convenient to use. You don’t need to worry about them when you go to the beach, take a shower, or play some sports. Since you’re not in direct contact with your blood, they’re healthier, cause less irritation, and are a more hygienically-sound solution overall. They’re less messy, there’s no real risk of spilling, and most women report the suffer from fewer menstrual cramps when they wear them.
They’re way cheaper
Menstrual cups are not a luxury. Their price is rarely higher than $30, but only if you want all the accessories that you will probably buy just once in your lifetime. The cup itself is usually priced around $10, and will last for years. Expenditure on disposable products, on the other hand, will quickly add up, especially if they’re taxed as unnecessary or luxury goods.