“At her first bleeding a woman meets her power.
Lucy H. Pearce
During her bleeding years she practices it.
At menopause she becomes it.”
Many women, many people menstruate. It’s typically a monthly cycle, although often sporadic or problematic, that many women go through and cope with on a regular basis. It is however something that also effects our environment due to the sheer amount of waste that is caused by pads and other sanitary products as it’s estimated that over 12 billion sanitary products are used yearly in the US alone. This is of course not the fault of women because we have been left with little options in the modern world that are socially acceptable.
The genuine purpose of menstruation to my surprise as an adult, astounded me. I’d always thought it was there to cushion, support and feed a new embryo which it is to some extent. However, it’s also there to prevent implantation and a lot more ‘choosy’ than I’d realized as it actually prevents about 20 to 30% of what might have been healthy pregnancies. It’s thought that only the very healthiest are able to make it through the tangled web of tissue to successfully reach the lining of the uterus and implant. Needless to say, that every month when an embryo isn’t fertilized and successfully able to implant, our bodies restart the process.
The ups and downs of our hormones this process requires can be taxing in any given month but most of us deal with it the best we can and go about our lives as normally as possible. Naturally, as a young teen, these transitions were very difficult and it was difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that I was going to continue having these monthly cycles every. single. month. for the better part of my life! This was seriously challenging to cope with at times both mentally and physically.
By the time I’d reached my mid 20’s I had finally made peace with and managed to somehow find a way to honor my period, to see it as a ‘release’ and some sort of ambiguous source of empowerment or at least that’s what I’ve told myself as a coping mechanism. My annoyances with it mostly faded except for one and that was having to use itchy chemical laden feminine products, particularly pads and tampons that were knowingly terrible for the environment. Not to mention, plastics are well known hormone disruptors that are increasingly wreaking havoc on our wildlife, water, soil, air and naturally, our own bodies.
Thankfully today there are many other options and over the years I’ve found many wonderful alternatives that are not only environmentally friendly but have made my periods even more less noticeable and comfortable. These are things likely everyone has heard of by now but I’m covering it just to give my perspective and maybe encourage someone who is on the fence about them. Sustainable Period Project has started a great movement for anyone interested in more information.
The womb is not a clock
Anne Sexton
nor a bell tolling,
but in the eleventh month of its life
I feel the November
of the body as well as of the calendar.
In two days it will be my birthday
and as always the earth is done with its harvest…
Cloth Period Underwear
I can’t rave about these enough. They are the best… literally. I’ve never had any issues with leaking, with not working or with being smelly. No more leaks or stained sheets! Now they do come with caveats. You’re going to need at least two pairs a day, three on heavy days. You’re going to have to wash them in warm soapy water after you take them off before you put them in the washer. I use an organic oat soap that is somewhat gritty and everything comes right out with no problems. I’ve had my Moontime underwear for an astounding 3 years and none of my undies have broken, gotten stains, gotten smelly, worn out or become oversized. That’s not normal for underwear. Of course there are also Thinx which I have tried as well and were nearly as good albeit more expensive. No this is not an affiliate article for either company. I am genuinely just impressed! Additionally, Moontime underwear are made at least partly of bamboo which is one of the most incredibly environmentally friendly materials in existence aside from hemp. They are incredibly comfortable and soft. The website says not to put them in the dryer… but I have and I do, monthly. Woops. I just have, but it hasn’t changed the effectiveness, although don’t go by my example.
Not only do these work perfectly well but I don’t ‘feel’ like I’m on my period half the days. I don’t feel like I’m wearing a mini diaper. I don’t feel like my flow is being stopped unnaturally or my vagina is absorbing plastic and harmful chemicals soaking through tampons inside me. I only feel better of course knowing I’m using an environmentally friendly alternative. I notice the biggest complaint about period underwear is that they feel ‘wet’ when you put them back on. They do for one to two seconds but no more than that and this is true for pads as well.
The other caveat here is the upfront cost. It’s approximately $10 a pair which isn’t terrible but not necessarily feasible if you’re living paycheck to paycheck to buy 10 at a time, which I have been there. If you can’t buy them all at once, my suggestion would be to get a pair or two every few months and slowly work your way to having sets that will last you a full week without having to wash them every night. With that said, of course I have saved at least a few hundred dollars three years in and far beyond that ten years in having used a silicone cup so they definitely save in the long run. Of course, they’re simply washed in the regular laundry with other things.
Cloth Pads
I could say the same about cloth pads. They’re hands down amazing. Not quite as amazing as the underwear but still better than standard pads or tampons and work just as well! Same applies to washing and care. I love all the various unique designs available for these and that there are many sellers who hand make them on marketplaces like etsy.
Silicone Cup
The silicone cup is a great alternative for those with heavier flows that absolutely need something more than a pad. I have used a cup in combination with period underwear and they work perfectly well together. Again, the same rules apply of washing and additionally of keeping it in clean spaces in between uses. These also work great if you’re trying to save your menstruation to add to compost or as an offering for plants, another earth friendly thing to do.
All three of these require something that we didn’t have to do when we used plastic and cotton sanitary products. They require us to come in direct contact with our menstruation, to get it on our hands and honestly I have come to thoroughly enjoy it. Instead of quickly tossing something covered in blood in the trash to be hidden away, I’m forced to visually reckon with it. It is oddly primally satisfying using the soap and my own two hands to clean as well as watching the blood wring out into the tub or sink.
It reminds me of my own strength in coping with this process every single month, of the lives I’ve created, that my body nourished into existence but also that this same part of me used discernment in choosing them to begin with. It reminds me of my mother and my grandmother and her grandmother and all the mothers. It has encouraged me not to feel shame for being a women but to surrender into my own power, identity and the way I make meaning with my moon cycles not from a place of woo woo feminism but from my reality. Truly, if you’re open to using them, earth friendly period products can be life changing not just for ourselves but the environment.
Isla Skye Herbals 