Mitigate whilst you Menstruate: Reduction in Production
This is our final blog post of our 'Mitigate whilst you Menstruate" series and we're going to be talking about how you can mitigate climate change whilst you menstruate by using a menstrual cup which reduces the production of disposable menstrual products.
Previous blogs in this series have talked about the shocking impacts disposable menstrual products have on our waters and how these unsustainable products end up in landfill. But lets take a look into the actual production of these products and unveil the truth about the manufacturing process that we don't tend to see or hear about.
It was very difficult to find a lot of information on the production of disposable menstrual products. This is largely because manufacturers are not required to report what methods they use to create their products (1), or to disclose any ingredient (2). The precise chemicals and substances and their gross environmental impact is largely unknown (3). This is extremely worrying and raises several questions. Let's dig a bit deeper...
The Manufacturing Process
There are significant resources consumed during the manufacture of disposable menstrual products (3). Pads and tampons are primarily made out of bleached kraft pulp or viscose rayon which originates from wood cellulose from trees (3). A lengthy series of chemical baths is required to turn solid wood into fluffy fibres (3).
The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm carried out a life cycle assessment comparison of the environmental impact of tampons and pads. Their 'cradle to grave' assessment of the raw material extraction, transportation, production, use and waste management stages took three main impact categories into consideration: human health, ecosystem quality and resource use (4).
Plastic Production
It was found that the main environmental impact of the products was actually by the processing of raw materials, particularly LDPE (low density polyethelene) or the plastics used in the backing of pads and tampon applicators, and cellulose production (4). Although the waste produced is significant in its own right, the main impact from the life cycle of disposable menstrual products is actually fossil fuel use as production requires so much energy.
The extraction, production and manufacture of plastics releases large amounts of toxic pollution into the environment. Ozone depleting gases such as Nitrogen oxide, Sulphur dioxide and Carbon dioxide are produced and these contribute to global warming (5).
Cotton Production
The cotton fibre used in the production of tampons contributes 80% of their total impact. Processing is resource intensive in that the farming of cotton requires large amounts of water, pesticides and fertiliser (4).
How bad is it really - the facts?
Each menstruating human will use on average 11,000 disposable sanitary products in their lifetime (6). That's a lot of disposable cotton and plastic! The image below shows the amount of waste that 40 years of disposable menstrual products creates (7). This leaves a carbon footprint of 5.3kg CO2 equivalent (8). All of these resources used in menstrual products have different impacts on global warming due to the fossil fuel demand of production. For example the strings of tampons made from either cotton or polypropylene require 14.3 and 7.58 kg CO2 equivalent, respectively, the cotton requires 3.06 kg CO2 equivalent and the rayon 4.8 kg CO2 equivalent (9).
The Menstrual Cup Solution
Although this all seems quite disheartening, we do actually have the power to do something about it - switching to menstrual cups!
As far as materials go, menstrual cups are made from silicon. Although this has its own impact, it logically follows that because they are reusable, their environmental impact is lower. Based on life cycle assessments of different menstrual products it is calculated that a DivaCup will only require 0.04 kg CO2 equivalent in one year, while a year’s worth of Tampax tampons will require 5.26 kg CO2 equivalent. And with the expected lifespan of a DivaCup, this means that menstruating humans can save 26.1 kg CO2 equivalent every five years (5.22 kg annually) by choosing a reusable cup over tampons (9).
We have the power to make a huge difference by taking such a small step. If you're a menstruating human I hope these numbers have convinced you to try a menstrual cup. If you're not a menstruating human you can still make a difference by donating a menstrual cup.
Let's look after the soil, water and air and ensure low carbon dependency one cup at a time!
References:
http://www.designlife-cycle.com/life-cycle-of-tampons/
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/apr/27/disposable-tampons-arent-sustainable-but-do-women-want-to-talk-about-it
https://lunapads.com/learn/why-switch?geoip_country=US
http://www.thechicecologist.com/green-living/the-environmental-impact-of-everyday-things/
http://www.natracare.com/why-natracare/plastic-free/
https://jezebel.com/5890058/this-is-how-much-it-costs-to-own-a-vagina-an-itemized-list
http://keeper.com/learn-more/gentle-earth/
https://rctom.hbs.org/submission/the-ecological-impact-of-feminine-hygiene-products/
https://theecoguide.org/menstrual-cup-what-sounds-gross
