The Myth of the Disposable Sanitary Pad

An average woman, in the modern industrialised society, will menstruate 450 times in her life and spend approximately 3,500 days menstruating.

“If every woman of reproductive age in India started to use disposable sanitary napkins, it is estimated that waste from the staggering amount of 58,500 million pads would be generated each year.”

Let those numbers sink in for a moment.

Wonder where those 58,500 million pads would go? Let’s talk about the magical journey of a sanitary napkin once it has been used. First, it is wrapped into the packaging provided by the the company, usually a bright coloured plastic sheet with a little tape on the end. Then, it’ll either be wrapped in an additional layer of tissue or waste-paper depending on how lazy you are, and finally be thrown in the dust-bin. Next morning, the garbage will be picked up and it will be thrown into a landfill. Or burnt. Whichever is easier. If it does go into a landfill, one disposable sanitary pad is estimated to take up to 500 years to decompose. If it is burnt, the various plastic components of the pad will release all sorts of nasty fumes into the atmosphere.

That’s not all though. Have you ever thought of what goes into the making of that cottony-soft, super white and disposable pad or tampon?

"Billions of sanitary towels and tampons are churned out every year, causing the felling of trees and carbon emissions during their production and further harm to the environment in their long, lingering deaths on one of the world’s already full-up landfills."

We associate the colour white with being extremely clean, sterilised and/or pure (it might have something to do with the same ideology that keeps fairness creams in such massive demands even today, but that's a different blog-post). These pads are, in fact, NOT clean or sterilised. Made in a machine, there are various toxins that go into a disposable, namely: 

• Dioxin, a chemical used to bleach the fibers of disposables. It causes cancer and is toxic.
• Asbestos, which in addition to being cancer-causing, it increases (this may seem incredible) your bleeding.
• Rayon, a super absorbent synthetic material that leaves fibers behind helping toxins accumulate inside your body, that favour infections along with Toxic Shock Syndrome.

“In addition to the environmental problems created by disposable sanitary products, the health effects are alarming. According to The Green Mama, most major brands of tampons and menstrual pads, such as Playtex, O.B., Tampax and others, use chlorine bleach to whiten their products. Keep in mind that the bleaching process does not sterilise anything – it only ensures that the products are white. The process results in the production of dioxin – a type of “organochlorine” as is DDT, PCBs and Agent Orange – that is linked to cancer, especially breast cancer, immune system suppression, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and low sperm count.”

Eco Femme's Full Cycle Kit

After I read more about it, I could not go back to using disposable pads. Not only was I being wasteful but I was actually contributing to a massive ecological crisis, five-pads-a-day/five-days-a-month. I had, unfortunately, fallen for the myth that using disposables is my only option. The first thing I did was Google the various alternatives available - reusable cloth pads and menstrual cups, though the cup’s availability in India is an issue. I decided to stick to reusable pads. Before I actually ordered any, I read and then re-read everything about re-usable pads after which I decided to order Eco Femme’s Full Cycle Kit.

"Eco Femme is a global women’s empowerment initiative. Rising from rural India, reaching out to women around the world, we promote and revitalize menstrual practice that are healthy, dignified, affordable and eco positive."

BAMF of the day

I must admit that in the beginning, I was extremely awkward about re-usable sanitary pads. “Do I really want to wash a bloody pad when I can just wrap it and throw it away?” And then it hit me. That is the exact mentality that leads us to believe that disposable pads are good; a myth that is further perpetuated by the Fortune 500 companies that profit by them. Lakhs upon lakhs are spent on advertising the disposable, where cloth is conveniently thought of as unclean, unsanitary and backwards.

Want 99% in your exams? Use a disposable pad!

Want to go on a vacation? Use a disposable pad!  

Want to be a successful journalist/teacher/actor/doctor? Use a goddamn disposable pad!

Even to this day, menstrual blood and it’s “taboos” are used by men to control and manipulate women. Menstrual blood is symbolised not as something powerful, as it should be, but as something abominable, disgusting and a dirty waste product that has no role in the reproductive process.

"We are conditioned to believe that menstruation is something to be kept secret, to be ashamed of and to hide; even that menstrual blood is ‘dirty’. But why, when periods are the stuff of life? After all, menstrual blood is what nurtures and protects a developing foetus in the womb. Furthermore, who is responsible for keeping this thinking alive?"

Now, before this post turns into some sort of patriarchy or a feminist piece, and I am endlessly trolled by the haters, I’m going to get on with what I did after the guilt hit me. I’d like to include that I haven’t been paid for any anything and I purchased the Full Cycle Kit at full price, including the handling and shipping charges.

“Healthy, dignified, affordable and eco positive.” Those words hooked me in when I was surfing Eco Femme’s website. Eco Femme’s Full Cycle Kit is a pack of 7 premium pads and 1 travel pouch. Okay, these pads are freakin’ beautiful. The travel pouch is meant for you to carry a clean pad while going out and bring back the soiled one, but, it is so adorable that I’ve already decided I’ll use it for other purposes. The kit also comes with a guide on how to use the pads, wash instructions and a menstrual tracking chart (I have an app for that) and all of it is packaged in recycled material full of flowery motifs.

The Night Pad

The Night Pad

I’ve never felt comfort like this before. It is the largest pad in the kit. A bit on the thicker side, I would say that this pad is the thickest of them all, like a Maxi disposable is. It is highly absorbent. It’s a little wider at one end, like any of the disposable night pads on the market. I wear the wide end in the front as I mostly sleep either on my sides or on my tummy and it makes more sense to wear it this way. The only con of this pad is that since it’s thicker than the rest and wider at one end, it is  difficult to fold it up like the others; however, since you’re not going to be wearing it outside in the day, the need to do so is eliminated. It is fluffy and has an earthy brown cloth at the side you wear up and stripey on the back (as are the others). The kit contains one night pad.

The Day Plus Pad

Day Plus Pads

This pad is the second largest in the kit. Since all the pads are made of the same material, the comfort level is the same. This pad is a bit thicker than an Ultra disposable pad, but not as thick as a Maxi disposable. This pad too is highly absorbent. Actually, the absorbency level is the same on all of the pads. It’s perfect for my heavy-flow days, usually the first 2 days. Now I’ve worn this pad to college and then gone to work (I'm a legit intern!) right after, and in between I’ve changed it in the office bathroom, and not once have I had a leak or a stain. At first, I found it a bit uneasy to carry a bloody little pad in my bag till I reached home, but then I got over it. The pad folds up nicely and those little pins stay shut until pried open. Put it in a little baggie (the cute one provided in the kit) and you're good to go. The pad is a nice purple shade on the side you wear up and green (with stripes) on the back. The kit contains two of these.

The Day Pad

Day Pads

Smaller than the Day Plus Pad, this one is a nice bright pink on the side you wear up. The size is perfect for my low-flow day, the fourth day, or for when I am at home and can change more frequently than I can if I’m outside. If I am home on my regular-flow day, the third day usually, I prefer this, but if I were to go out on the same day, I would wear a Day Plus Pad simply because it’s a bit bigger. The absorbency again, is the same as the other pads so I am not worried about leaks or anything. The size of this is exactly the same as a Stayfree Secure Dry with Wings (230mm), if that helps you visualise it. The kit contains two of these.

  

The Pantyliner

Pantyliners

The smallest of the pads, it is a cobalt blue on the side you wear up. This pad seems a little thinner than the rest, but since it’s meant to be worn for when you’re spotting, so that doesn't seem like an issue, and the absorbency is perfect for that day. The kit contains two of these.

All the pads, except for the Night Pad, are the same in width. They only differ in length by about an inch or so. The Night Pad, since it’s wider on one end, is the only one that is different due it’s width. Of course, they’re all in different colours as stated above. They also have an additional PUL layer in the end, though I’m unsure if the PUL layer extends till the wings.

In the beginning, I thought I would feel gooey all the time, but these pads soak it all up instantaneously, as a disposable would do. Disposables have a way to make you bleed more since they are designed to pull up all the fluid and turn into the gel stuff they’re always advertising. Hence it makes you bleed more, which obviously is unhealthy. As far as any odour is concerned, everyone knows that your menstrual blood is supposed to be odourless. The smell emits from the disposable as soon as it comes in contact with the blood.  The moment a disposable is worn, it starts to disintegrate and the plastic starts to smell foul and that is exactly why pad companies come up with various perfumed pads. And how does a pad smell better? More chemicals. I’ve used the reusable cloth pads for 4 of my periods now and not once did anything smell foul or dirty. Here’s the thing, if your menses does smell funky, you need a doctor not a perfumed pad.

Left to dry

When it comes to washing the reusable sanitary pad, I simply wet them in the basin with cold water, put a little hand wash and gently rub both ends of the pad against itself. I then wash it again with water until the water runs clean,I squeeze it gently couple of times (when you squeeze brownish red water will be expelled). On my third or fourth squeeze, the water will run clear and that’s when I know the pad is clean. The pad can be put out to dry, however it’ll take a lot of time since it’ll be dripping wet. Instead, I prefer tossing it in the washing machine for an extra wash and so it can tumble dry. Now, I won’t use the machine to wash one or two pads, so depending on when the laundry is being done on that day I decide how to store the pad until it can be machine washed. If the laundry is set to be done in a couple of hours, I’ll toss it in. If I’ve missed the laundry (if my dad does it, he does it awfully early in the morning as opposed to my mum, who does it around 2pm), I put the damp pad (it's clean of any blood) in a little bucket of water and then put it in. I’ve hand washed these pads with a foaming face wash twice now (it was an emergency!) and it still cleaned out pretty well. Oh, but before tossing them in the machine or a bucket, I do ensure to put in a few drops of Dettol and some rosewater because, why not? Once they are done in the machine and tumble dried, I pin them on a hanger and hang them in sunlight. After tumble drying, they dry up in about two to three hours. Done. FYI, never use hot water to wash them as the stains will set. There are lots of tutorials and videos on YouTube that will show you how to wash these kinds of pads.

Folded Pads

Eco Femme claims that 7 pads are more than enough for one menstrual cycle. Living in a humid city such as Bombay/Mumbai, during the monsoons, I believe that 7 pads are not enough as they don’t dry all that quickly, even when tumble dried. On rainy days, I would hang them up in a well-ventilated room with the fan on and they would still take some time to dry as opposed to the October heat we’re subjected to at the moment. It would be great if they increased the number of pads to 3 for the Day Plus and Day Pads and 2 Night Pads in the kit. Then again, these can be purchased separately as well. You could also buy 2 kits instead and be done with it (what I did). Another concern of mine are the wings. I wish the cotton layers extended till the wings. Just a personal preference.

The sizes of each

The cost of these pads may be on the higher side since the cost is 1575 rupees, however, I have spent more than that amount in the past for a year's worth of disposable pads. The price of these pads is a one-time cost since I don't see the need of buying any more disposables for at least a few years, when these are seriously worn out. Even then, I would just buy a new kit of these cloth pads. If you're a DIY kind of a person, there are various designs available online, along with tutorials so you can just sew them up yourself.

I am a complete convert to cloth sanitary napkins. They are eco-friendly, dignified and so comfortable. These pads will easily last me for years to come, Eco Femme claims that their pads last up to 5 years when cared for properly. If this isn't reason enough for you to go ahead and make the healthy choice, you can go ahead and buy just one pad, or make it on your own and use it when you're home. Even if you were to use a reusable, washable pad only at night or when you're lounging around at home imagine the amount of waste that will be reduced in a year. Goonj NJPC (Not Just a Piece of Cloth) also offers a similar pad, and Azaadi offers a 100% biodegradable one, though I'm not sure where you can purchase them. You could also experiment with the Shecup if you want to go ahead with a menstrual cup, though keeping it in for 12 hours makes me a bit squeamish. It can be ordered online and apparently, gets delivered within a week. If you want to buy a Full Cycle Kit of premium pads by Eco Femme, click here.

If you have any queries, leave them in the comment section below or tweet to me at @IsAnathema. Click on the pictures to view the full size. I'll be putting up some images on Instagram (again, @IsAnathema) as well; mostly the same images as above, but probably with a filter, and the hashtags: #PeriodOfChange #ProudToBleed, so if you want to share this post, those are the hashtags to use.