Eco-Friendly Feminine Hygiene Products Available Anywhere in the U.S.

Feminine hygiene products seem to one of the final lifestyle changes when going green but they do not have to be last. Here is a guide to starting with four eco-friendly feminine hygiene products that are each more eco-friendly than traditional feminine hygiene at varying degrees up to being able to be a part of potentially reducing billions of tons of disposable waste per year.

Why switch to green eco-friendly feminine hygiene products, the Be a "Green" Diva page explains clearly and concisely "Most tampons and pads contain surfactants, adhesives and additives. In addition, most pads contain polyethylene plastic whose production is a pollutant. Also, dioxin, a known carcinogen, is a by-product of the bleaching process of tampons containing rayon. In landfills, many of these substances can leach into the environment (groundwater, streams and lakes) causing serious pollution and health concerns." Basically, the current products are much more toxic and harmful to our environment than most women realize.

If you are satisfied using maxi pads, maxis or liners with wings, or pantyliners and you want to have a lighter footstep on the earth, it is simple to make the switch to Seventh Generation Chlorine Free maxi pads and pantyliners. The products are not bleached and they use "a combination of absorbent materials, polyolefins, adhesives, and a silicone-coated paper. The top layer is a non-woven polyolefin cover sheet. The absorbent materials consist of chlorine free wood pulp, and Lysorb, an absorbent gel. Lysorb, also known as SNAP (super absorbent natural polymer), is a polysaccharide derived from wheat" according to Seventh Generation.

For tampon users, it is also very simple to switch to organic tampons. If you think about the fact that you are putting a tampon inside your body, it is very easy to conclude that chemical-free and organic tampons would be a healthier option for your body and the earth than a product with chemicals. Many women consciously think about avoiding produce sprayed with chemicals and evaluate the ingredients and chemicals in cosmetics, lotions, and deodorants before purchase, how much more so should should tampon ingredients be evaluated? It is easy to switch to 100% organic cotton tampons. Seventh Generation also produces these, the benefits according the Seventh Generation include being 100% certified organic cotton, certified organic by Quality Assurance International, Inc., whitened without chlorine, no rayon, biodegradable applicator with rounded tip, and the package is 100% recycled paper. Many neighborhood retailers and grocery chains are carrying Seventh Generation products as well as a large number of online retailers.

The next environmentally conscious step that a feminine hygiene consumer can consider is to seek to eliminate the waste generation by the disposable feminine hygiene products. Reusable products completely eliminate waste going to landfills.

If you usually use maxi pads and pantyliners, you could consider switching to reusables. If you have changed children's diapers or even used cloth diapers to prevent your babies from having the chemicals in mass-marketed diapers on their skin, then laundering a reusable pad is not much different. There are several brands of reusable maxi pads and some talentd ladies even know how to knit their own. Two brands that will receive an honorable mention here are Glad Rags and MoonPads. Both are washable and reusable. Their construction is a little different. MoonPads come in many different colors and designs, in fact they are absolutely gorgeous and the snap colors are even fully customizable. It is worth just checking out the site to see their designs. Just like those who switched to cloth diapers saw a huge cost savings when using reusable diapers, reusable pads will also bring many years of cost savings as well. However, Gladrags and MoonPads come in fashionable colors and designs unlike the plain cloth diaper.

If you don't want to clean a pad and you are seeking less bulk and less disposal waste, there is another option - The DivaCup. The DivaCup is a reusable silicone product that collects menstrual fluids. It completely eliminates the disposal waste that other feminine hygiene products generate. According to Be a Green Diva website, "This simple change is as significant as switching from plastic to canvas bags!" They explain that The DivaCup is an wise, eco-friendly, environmentally responsible choice because of the disposal waste and pollutants that it cuts down on. According to their website, "Women, on average, experience a lifetime menstruation span of 41 years (11-52). From use of disposable feminine hygiene, an estimated 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons are dumped into the North American environment each year (1998). More than 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along U.S. coastal areas between 1998 and 1999."

Behan shares on an EnviroMom post, "I've used glad rags for a few years, and Diva cup for a few months. The Diva cup was a big hurdle for me (after a disastrous spill incident with a something kind of similar- but different design- about 10 years ago). Now, though, I am a HUGE fan after using Diva for a few cycles. Correct insertion did take some getting used to, I admit. But I've got it down now and there are no leaks, no fuss, and of course...no bulk! SO easy! hope this helps!."

There are lots of options, baby steps or big steps, that a woman can take to be more eco-friendly and environmentally conscious to her own body and to our earth in regards to feminine hygiene products.

Seventh Generation, Chlorine Free Maxipads - Unbleached Maxipads - Maxipads, Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation, Applicator Tampons - Organic Tampons - Natural Tampons - Organic Cotton Tampons, Seventh Generation
Glad Rags, Reusable Menstrual Products, Gladrags.com
MoonPads, Etsy epicerma Moonpads Organic Cotton Reusable Cloth Menstrual Pads, Epicerma on Etsy
Diva International., Be a "Green" Diva - The DivaCup menstruation cup is an environmentally friendly female hygiene, The DivaCup
Behan, EnviroMom: Major TMI alert: the low-down on eco-friendly feminine hygiene, EnviroMom