Dear Umbra,
You mentioned in "Kid Commando" that the "disposable vs. reusable diaper fight is in a stalemate for the foreseeable future." Is the same true for sanitary napkins?
Clara Yuan
Ithaca, N.Y.
Dearest Clara,
I haven't heard tell of the debate, frankly. I certainly get several "which is better" diaper questions a month, but yours is the first on sanitary napkins in quite a while. Perhaps the Eco-Patriarchy is deliberately stifling debate on this vital wimmin's issue. Well, this womyn has something new to say (always).
Legends of the fallopian.
Photo: iStockphoto
I've managed to find only one lifecycle analysis of such supplies, a comparison of tampons vs. sanitary napkins written by students at a technology institute in Sweden. Their conclusion, based on the data available to them, was that tampons posed less of an ecological burden. Pads are built of layers of ingeniously engineered petroleum product, and hence contribute to climate troubles. Tampons are mostly cotton. Cotton is no innocent crop from a petroleum standpoint, but has less impact, according to this study.
I know you didn't ask about tampons, but this was the only lifecycle analysis I could find, so we'll have to extrapolate and let reusable cotton sanitary pads stand in for tampons. The differences are that reusable pads are -- well, reusable, but contain more cotton than tampons and also require household water for cleansing. Are any men still reading at this point? Just curious.
Let's assume those who choose reusable pads are sparing with the water. I think we can then assume that reusable pads edge out disposable pads in the imaginary fight for eco-status. If you sewed your own cotton or fleece pads out of old clothing or towels, you would divert solid waste and gain extra points for the permanent pads.
So I say reusable wins, but the pad debate has a catch similar to that in the diaper debate: either you are willing to use and wash reusable pads or diapers, or you aren't. Don't write in and tell me there's no difference in effort, efficacy, comfort, and convenience. Both types of pads and diapers have their pros and cons -- I'm not saying one is better. I'm just saying it's hard to change who you are, and in neither situation will earnest ecological tendencies outweigh strongly ingrained personal hygiene habits.
Don't forget about other choices available to ladies. I ran over what I knew in the previous column on the topic. To update, there are now three reusable cups of which I'm aware: the silicone Moon Cup, natural latex Keeper, and the silicone intercapped DivaCup. There are also disposable cups available at the supermarket, but if you must buy them, please make it a one-time purchase in service of investigating the concept, and then move on to a permanent cup.
Womanly,
Umbra
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Comments
View as Flat
Arianna Posted 6:38 am
10 Jan 2007
Word to the first time buyer - even the level 1 size looks huge, and I kind of balked at it at first, but honstly it isn't because it's nice and squishable. I advise you to trim down the little stick on the end though, I found it kind of painful because it stuck out too far, but now that I've trimmed it off I don't notice the thing at all :)
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grngrl Posted 7:01 am
10 Jan 2007
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cehobgyn Posted 1:39 pm
10 Jan 2007
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sfrikken Posted 12:25 am
11 Jan 2007
I am a hygiene-conscious person, but the shift to reusables wasn't too hard for me.
I have been using reusable pads for about 20 years, now. The benefits are incredible. I still have several of the same pads that I started out with! They last a very long time, even with soaking, and clean well (yes, minimal water use!). You just have to get a container to dedicate to soaking them to make it convenient. I have found the tubs that oxidation powder (for laundry/cleaning) come in are handy. Small profile, handle, and a lid so you can disguise it even if guests come over and you need to tuck it under the toilet or something.
Other benes: If you get ones with a clean surface (refoldable, like these I just found--cannot find my originals--http://www.sckoon.com/scorcopadfaq.html#use), they are extremely clean against your skin. Odor is less than with the plastic pads, as well. Absorbancy is awesome.
Downsides: Traveling is tough--discreetly soaking them, stashing them in a plastic bag, etc. Also, workouts on bicycles are not recommended!
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:41 am
11 Jan 2007
Now I know who the audience for Al Gore, bio-fuels and Grist.org are: GEEZERS!
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JMG Posted 4:28 am
11 Jan 2007
and I remember my joy at finding the UCS "Consumer Guide to Effective Environmental Choices" to back up my oft-repeated contention that any time spent on such debates is a serious misuse of a vanishing resource ...
So while I hope your answer helped some women find a superior choice that works for them, I wish you had placed the consequence of this choice in context--which is to say that very little depends on this decision and that each woman should find the option she prefers and not worry about it a moment longer than need be, because every moment spent on these debates (where the life-cycle analyses are so crude and require so many assumptions that the results are basically guesses) is taking away from larger issues.
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David Roberts Posted 4:40 am
11 Jan 2007
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trace Posted 3:32 am
12 Jan 2007
The cup has shown me a whole new relationship with this part of each month. It's just me and my cup, no more intrusive "stuff" to deal with and throw out.
By the way - you may have already figured this out, but rinsing the cup in your own urine stream is the
most private and simple way to empty in public bathrooms - clean and sanitary! I just wash mine with soap once in the morning and before sleeping.
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solea Posted 3:57 am
12 Jan 2007
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girlonfoot Posted 5:43 am
12 Jan 2007
Also, I would contend that, like our daily food choices, this stuff figures heavily into women's (and arguably, men's) lives. So, while I get JMG's point that the life-cycle discussion inevitably dead-ends, I disagree that this is one dialogue "taking away from larger issues."
The more connected we can get to conservation principles in the things we care most about, or in the things we come into contact with daily (sushi, bed sheets, backyard gardens, beer, menstrual cycles, our commute, whathaveyou), the better.
Because, in the end, all those "little" things add up to a mindset that's more open to and mindful of the "larger issues."
A woman who bothers to care about paper vs. plastic, tampon vs. pad, seems like just the kind of woman that will actually listen when you suggest that she give up her car, run for office on a green ticket and single-handedly bring industrial agribusiness to its knees.
Just a thought.
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willa Posted 8:14 am
12 Jan 2007
Also, it's not at all equivalent to "paper or plastic?" because Umbra's major suggestion is that you choose neither. It's like bringing your own grocery bags--if you use the Keeper or similar, you use zero materials each month and create no trash.
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pumpkin sparshott Posted 6:59 am
13 Jan 2007
Moisten in warm water before using, thensqueeze out and rinse in warm water between uses, and I boiled them in vinegar water at the end of each cycle. In public washrooms, I squeezed them in toilet paper or somesuch, but that's very wasteful of paper, so tried to avoid cubicles.
Squeamish folk can make a string out of oh say string, but I never found that necessary for retrieval. And I didn't like the idea of a wick, if you see what I mean.
A piece of sponge will last several months.
Don't use the ones sold for this, or the cosmetic sponges, much too expensive. I bought the huge bath or (even cheaper) car-wash sponges and cut them up. One large sponge cut up lasted for at least 4 years...
You do have to experiment re sizing at first.
They are super-comfortable, very soft. They don't stick to you like tampons do (it's the absorbant chemicals that make them stick I think.)
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charitili Posted 5:00 pm
16 Jan 2007
I was really happy to find the silicone Diva a few months back, and it's already paid for itself in money I've saved for not having to buy tampons. My favorite part about the Diva is that there really is none of the odor associated with menstrual flow, even when I remove it. And most of the time I don't notice it at all. It's great for sleeping with and traveling with. I agree with Arianna - trim down the end as it's quite painful when it pokes.
I keep a container of water by the toilet, and empty the Diva Cup into it. Then I water my houseplants and pour it near my greens outside - the celery seems to love it. My ex-girlfriend used to dilute her blood and put it in a spray bottle to mist her orchids with. They absolutely thrived on it.
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caniscandida Posted 6:27 pm
16 Jan 2007
Have the Intelligent Design crowd ever been confronted with this business? If the Intelligent Designer were all that intelligent, he surely would have made the lives of women less complicated, no?
But then again, he is a "he" ...
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Lunagal Posted 12:52 pm
17 Jan 2007
umbra, we don't think that reusables just 'edge' disposables. washing reusables does require water, but water is a renewable resource. the landfill problem however is immense, and isn't getting any better. let's also not forget that disposable pads are probably made from pulp from old growth forests in Canada and tampons are full of rayon and dioxins (incredibly toxic things to be inside a woman). effluents from the plastic, pulp and paper industries are also a greater hazard to the environment compared to the cotton manufacturing industry.
while we are also grateful for you mentioning cups (and to others for mentioning sponges) we wish you'd take a stronger stance on the reusable vs disposable argument, because in doing so, if will eventually shift people's thinking and habits. (who here recycled paper when they were kids?) Yes, people can get stuck in their ways, but if women hear a stronger and more compelling message, it can make a difference. especially if that difference was made by all bleeding women out there!
if anyone wants to read more about our gripes about being 'light green' and women using the 'ick' factor to avoid considering reusables, visit our blog entry at http://blog.lunapads.com/2007/01/the_light_green_letdown....
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jlp2727 Posted 6:20 am
18 Jan 2007
It is convenient, incredibly cost-effective and ends the worry that you have forgotten to buy tampons or pads.
Too bad it doesn't get rid of PMS or cramps! haha
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betsyhoff Posted 5:48 am
23 Jan 2007
I've been tempted to try the divacup, but when I tried the keeper years ago it hurt so bad it made me cry. I think my cervix is tilted. Maybe after having two kids the divacup will be a better different experience.
washing away in my low-water washer,
BH in Seattle
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ramblingal76 Posted 12:07 pm
26 Jan 2007
cheers!
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Rana Posted 11:34 am
27 Jan 2007
I've been rinsing them out with plain cold water when I change them, and have not had any problems. I wouldn't want to reuse them for a long time, but using one per month is a lot less wasteful than the recommended amount. (I bought about 15 boxes of them at one point when I was afraid that they were going to go off the market; I figure that I am set until I reach menopause.) I find them comfortable and easy to use, even when camping or traveling (I carry a water bottle with me then, for rinsing). FWIW
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