That time of the month, sustainably

This is definitely not the most comfortable subject to bring up but we have to adress the fact that periods produce a lot of waste (not to mention a mess). Tampons and pads end up in landfill, and that's a lot of waste per woman as we require these things on a monthly basis through a large portion of our lives. Are there environmental periods? Yes. A lot of women are already using the menstrual cup and it has received great reviews. The truth is though, not everyone is comfortable with menstrual cups and tampons. Some of us freak out by the thought of strolling around with something inside. Worry not, sister. There are other options.

So I mentioned the menstrual cup and if that caught your interest, Divacup and Lunette has made quite a fuss among zero waste bloggers. The menstrual cup is basically a soft silicone cup that you insert just like a tampon, only it is washable and reusable. One purchase will last a long time but for those who refuse to insert anything, there are several other alternatives. Lunapads and GladRags currently have the largest assortments of washable cotton pads. These are shaped and used like any regular pad, only they're durable and made out of cotton fabric. Instead of throwing them in the trash, you throw them in the washer. The pads are a little expensive, but they will pay form themselves in no time.

If not pads, you can always turn to menstrual underwear. Yes, you heard right! Menstrual underwear. No pad, no tampon. Sounds gross? I agree, but decided to try it anyway and it didn't make the mess I thought it would. THINX is the brand and the panties are expensive too, but let the reusable part weigh in before you turn your back. You don't need to buy new underwear every month, unlike regular pads and tampons.

THINX comes in different styles and with different absorbency. They even have thongs, obviously for lighter days. I personally went with the hiphugger style for heavy days. My thought was "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to DO this!" so no medium or light day panties in this house! Hiphugger also comes in two colors, nude and black. At first I wanted black but decided to go with nude because I was testing, assuming any leakage would be easier to detect. If you're squeamish I can tell you that you won't be seeing much of aunt flo' because the inside of the the panty is black.

My experience with THINX was good. I had no leakage but my flow would also fall into the medium category. The downside to my test was that I only bought one panty and had to use pads for the rest of the week. However, I managed to replace a whole day's use of pads with THINX. If I owned several pairs it would have been more sustainable, but they're so darn pricey! I did some research and found a that the cheaper alternative is Padkix. I have no experience with these, but I might give them a try in the future. Anyway, despite my positive experience, I don't trust these 100% yet. I'd wear dark pants if I were to go out. You know your own flow, but if you're going to give 'em a try, do it at home first, just to be safe.

If you still don't feel ready to let go of your regular pads and tampons, don't get your panties in a bunch just yet (ha). Ordinary pads and tampons are often full of synthetic, non-biodegradable materials and even contain harmful substances. Yoni offers both pads and tampons that are made of organic cotton and tested for these harmful substances. The box is made out of paper and the pads are wrapped in a thin biodegradable plastic. Replacing orginary menstrual products with Yoni is a step in the right direction too.