Five Reasons to Choose Cloth Menstrual Pads Over Disposable

1. Money - Cloth menstrual pads are relatively inexpensive and for those minimally handy with a needle, they can be made for next to nothing. The average woman uses 260 pads or tampons a year and menstruates for 30 to 40 years. A modest estimate of yearly cost would be $35. Over a 30 to 40 year period this pushes the total cost to well over $1000 per woman. That might not sound like a lot, but wouldn't you rather have the money for something else? A lifetime supply of cloth pads can be purchase for about $50. If you chose to make them yourself, the price is reduced even further.

2. The Environment - Cloth menstrual pads are environmentally friendly. Over the course of her lifetime, a woman who chooses to use disposable pads will create 12 to 15 cubic feet of pad garbage. This is a lot of landfill space. If you think about how many people there are in your town or city, this adds up fast! Cloth menstrual pads can be worn until they are falling apart. Then wash them and donate them to a cloth/fiber recycling program or even compost them! If you make your pads out of rags (old towels, washcloths, or baby diapers work well), you will be reducing garbage produced even more.

3. Comfort - Disposable pads are often uncomfortable, rubbing in the wrong places, and chafing. Some woman experience allergic reactions to the materials used in their construction, and the plastic liners retain moisture creating a favorable environment for bacteria to flourish near the skin also increasing odor. Contact dermatitis and irritation are not uncommon in women using disposable pads. Cloth menstrual pads are highly customizable. Make pads exactly the size, shape, and absorbency that works for you! Try some soft cotton flannel pads, and it will be hard to return to the convenience of disposables. Many women are won over by the comfort alone.

4. Self sufficiency - With cloth pads, there is no need to run to the drugstore because you don't have any at the right time. You are less likely to run out. You don't have to stop at the bank or worry because your period came a week early, and you are out of cash. There they are, in your drawer, right when you need them, month after month.

5. Chemical free - When you use cloth menstrual pads, you know what you are putting next to your body. You don't have to worry that they might contain some odd chemical that isn't safe for you. To reduce the chemical level of your pads even further, chose pads made from organically produced cloth.

I recommend that everyone give cloth menstrual pads a try. Many manufacturers offer trial packs at a discounted rate, and patterns that you can customize to make your own pads are abundant on the internet. Even if you chose to occasionally use disposable products (for example, while traveling) for the convenience, I think you'll find that cloth menstrual products have a lot of advantages making them ideal for day to day use.