Are you interested in making small changes to become more sustainable? Switching to reusable period products is a great step to take, even if you just use reusables some of the time.
Click here to take our period pledge
Did you know that commonly used disposable period products are 90% plastic? With 18 million people in the UK using around 11,000 disposables each in their lifetime, that’s a huge number of items used once and thrown away. A lot of these products aren’t disposed of correctly and end up being flushed, which can pollute our rivers and seas. It's also a huge amount of plastic taking up to a thousand years to break down! Disposable period products are also made of a combination of chemicals, plastic, paper and wood pulp – not what you might want to place in intimate areas.
Disposable period products really are a triple threat – they can be environmentally damaging, a potential health risk, and they can also be a financial burden. You can use this Periodic Calculator to work out how much you are likely to spend on disposable period products throughout your life. In addition, one in ten girls in the UK is unable to afford sanitary products, which can have a negative impact on their access to education and quality of life.
You have lots of options to choose from when it comes to reusable period products – here are some ideas to get you started:
Reusable period products provide a great alternative to single-use disposable period products and can offer great cost, health, and environmental benefits. Reusable period products are also a great option for perimenopause, pregnancy and incontinence.