By Hannah Schmidt
29 February 2024
For most people who menstruate, having their monthly period is an uncomfortable and painful experience. On top of this, research by L.A.G Blair has proven that menstrual products also account for 60,000 tonnes of waste annually. So how can we reduce the waste created by menstrual products while ensuring the monthly cycle remains as comfortable as possible? The answer is the reusable menstrual cup which is not only more sustainable and comfortable but also much cheaper than disposable menstrual materials. So, given the promising nature of these simple solutions to menstrual product wastage, why is it that such a lack of people use a menstrual cup?
Currently, the most used period products also tend to be the products which cause the largest amount of waste: disposable tampons and pads. A study by Ramsay found that 69.5% of people who menstruate use these unsustainable menstrual materials. Not only do these products create large amounts of waste but they also require significant amounts of water to produce. Contrastingly, given the fact that the menstrual cup is reusable and therefore only the initial packaging is the waste that necessitates disposal, L.A.G Blair found that “The menstrual cup appears to produce the least amount of waste overall when compared to pads and tampons” (Blair et al.)
While the increased sustainability of the menstrual cup is a paramount advantage to using a menstrual cup, there are also other advantages including their long-lasting ability which greatly reduces the high and commonly unaffordable cost of period products. It is estimated that people who menstruate spend up to 10,000$ in a lifetime on menstrual products, this has now been dubbed as the ‘pink tax.’ Alternatively, menstrual cups can last for up to 10 years and while the initial purchase of 24$ can be pricy, the long-lasting nature of the cup means that there is a lack of necessity for replacement. This means that if you take the average amount of time that people tend to menstruate in a lifetime, which is 40 years (“Your Menstrual Cycle | Office on Women’s Health”), people could be spending less than 100$ on their period in a lifetime!
Another advantage to using the sustainable menstrual cup is both comfort and less regular alternation. While disposable tampons and pads should be changed every 4 to 6 hours (Nall), a menstrual cup can be worn for up to 12 hours (Nall) without replacement meaning less water is also required to wash the cup after usage. Furthermore, while initially inserting and removing the menstrual cup can be a challenging and uncomfortable experience, with repeated use this process becomes easier. As well as this, many people who menstruate have also found an increased likelihood to participate in active activities they enjoy like sports during their menstruation due to the comfort that menstrual cups provide.
Given all these advantageous benefits, why are not more people making the switch from disposable menstrual products to the sustainable menstrual cup? This could be a result of the large taboo surrounding menstruation which hinders the conversation surrounding the topic. Many people are discouraged from using the menstrual cup due to the challenging initial insertion and removal. Ramsay argues that this is due to people “not having enough information about reusable products” (Ramsay et al.) and found that 37% (Ramsay et al.) of people are hesitant to use a menstrual cup for this reason.
On top of this, studies completed in less conservative countries like Australia where the conversation around menstruation is less taboo, a study by Ramsay found that 17.1% of participants use reusable menstrual cups. On the other hand, a study completed by Babbar and Garikipsti on menstrual product usage in India which tends to be more conservative and therefore could hinder open discussions about menstruation found that only 0.3% of participants admitted to using the menstrual cup.
Ultimately, this suggests that to encourage the shift from high-waste disposable menstrual products to sustainable menstrual cups, more open conversation is required to reduce the taboo and misunderstandings surrounding menstruation.
References
Babbar, Karan, and Supriya Garikipati. “What Socio-Demographic Factors Support Disposable vs. Sustainable Menstrual Choices? Evidence from India’s National Family Health Survey-5.” PLOS ONE, vol. 18, no. 8, Public Library of Science, Aug. 2023, pp. e0290350–50, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290350. Accessed 24 Sept. 2023.
Blair, L. A. G., et al. “An Exploratory Study of the Impact and Potential of Menstrual Hygiene Management Waste in the UK.” Cleaner Engineering and Technology, vol. 7, Apr. 2022, p. 100435, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100435.
Borunda, Alejandra. “How Tampons and Pads Became Unsustainable and Filled with Plastic.” National Geographic, 6 Sept. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-tampons-pads-became-unsustainable-story-of-plastic.
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Nall, Rachel. “Are Menstrual Cups Dangerous?” Healthline, 27 Mar. 2019, www.healthline.com/health/menstrual-cup-dangers#:~:text=Menstrual%20cups%20can%20hold%20varying. Accessed 10 Feb. 2024.
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Park, Allyson. How Inflation Impacts the Pink Tax and the Period Product Industry. 2002, money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/spending/articles/the-pink-tax-how-inflation-impacts-the-period-product-industry#:~:text=Sustainable%20Period%20Products%20as%20a%20Cost%2DFriendly%20Solution&text=The%20average%20person%20who%20menstruates,estimated%20%249%2C000%20over%20a%20lifetime.
Ramsay, Caitlin, et al. “Reusable Period Products: Use and Perceptions among Young People in Victoria, Australia.” BMC Women’s Health, vol. 23, no. 1, Mar. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02197-3.
“Your Menstrual Cycle | Office on Women’s Health.” Www.womenshealth.gov, www.womenshealth.gov/menstrual-cycle/your-menstrual-cycle#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20women%20get%20a.