SEED member Julie Gumerman
hosts a Tampaction
workshop at Kent
State University.
Photo by Brett Wilhelm
By Julie Gummerman
Tampons on the market create problems pose problems
to the environment and women’s health. Chemicals present in the cotton out of which
tampons are made get into local ecosystems and women’s bodies, as do the dioxins
created by the tampon-bleaching process. The enormous number of tampons used by women
both fills landfills and increases the risk of harmful health impacts on users. Fortunately,
several alternatives to tampons can be made and purchased. These alternatives are friendly
to women and the environment.
Fiber Content
Most fibers used in tampons come from the cotton plant.
Unfortunately, cotton is one of the crops most heavily treated with pesticide. Five out
of nine of the pesticides used on cotton have been proven to cause cancer, and all nine
pesticides have been labeled as dangerous by the EPA.
Rayon, another fiber present in tampons, is a cotton derivative.
It is made from gin trash: the leaves, short fibers, and stems of cotton. Because California
law forbids feeding gin trash to cattle due to the chemicals, it is used in products
such as cotton balls and tampons.
Rayon also causes problems because its fibers are
rougher and sharper than those of natural products. These fibers are abrasive on the walls
of the vagina. Back in the 1970s and early 1980s these abrasions were found to be the cause
of Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Bleaching Process
The bleaching process normally used by tampon manufacturers
produces dioxins. While only trace amounts of these are found in tampons currently marketed,
the EPA has determined that no safe level of dioxin exists. Side effects of dioxin
exposure include birth defects and less successful immune systems. Additionally, due to
tampons being used in the most absorbent part of a woman’s body, dioxin levels may add
up over time. The average woman uses over 16,000 tampons during her life.
Organic tampons: $4-6 a box.
Pros:
• Contain no pesticides
• Support women-owned businesses
• Bleaching process does not create dioxin
Cons:
• Create same amount of waste as the average tampon
• Expensive
• Suck up all vaginal fluids, which can cause yeast
infections (also a problem with corporate tampons)
Sea sponges: $9 for sponges officially for this use,
much less for sponges at art stores.
Pros:
• Readily available
• Sea sponges are a sustainable resource
Cons:
• Not FDA approved
• Need to be replaced every three cycles
• Need frequent squeezing
The Keeper and the DivaCup: $25-35; reusable for at
least 10 years.
This is a cup that is inserted into the vagina and emptied
a couple times daily.
Pros:
• Look ma! No trash!
• Measures flow
• Work well for travel because there is nothing to
carry around
• Catches blood rather than absorbs it
• Lots of users say it gets rid of cramps
Cons:
• Can be awkward while learning how to use it
• Only comes in two sizes
• Might cause yeast infections in some women
• Shouldn’t be used by women with frequent UTIs
Cloth pads: Cost ranges from next-to-nothing for
homemade pads to $30 and up for ready-made.
Pros:
• Fun to wear
• Reusable
• Blood flows naturally
• No risk of yeast infections and TSS
Cons:
• Can be bulky
• Need to be washed
• May need to bring backups if out for a long time