Let's talk about disposables! We started Reemi because we wanted to make periods more equitable - so that everyone has access to education and products, and is able to take ownership of their health and wellbeing. But we know that the health of people is inextricably linked to the health of the environment, and the products we've used historically (like pads and tampons) are impacting the environment negatively. So we knew our solution had to not only place humans at the centre, but also the planet. Once you dive into the facts around disposable products, it's pretty shocking. Here are our key findings:
-
The average menstruator uses about 16-22 disposables per cycle
-
That's a minimum of 192 products in landfill per menstruator, per year
-
90% of pads are made of plastic
-
Pads take 500-800 years to decompose (according to Menstrual Health Alliance India)
-
Tampons take 500-1000 years to decompose
-
Organic cotton tampons are a big improvement - taking between 6 months and 5 years to decompose
Pads and tampons can be pretty convenient, and sometimes we still use them when we need to. But switching to reusable products even for part of your cycle - at the beginning or end, or nights - could halve (or more!) the number of disposables you need to use. The more we're able to replace our disposables with reusable products like period underwear or cups, the more waste we can prevent going to landfill. We get that pads and tampons have been the go-to for the majority of our lifetimes, but there are so many more options now! If you want to find out more about Reemi period underwear - read more here!❣️
