Period Poverty and Climate Justice - How Innovative Solutions and Fighting Stigma Can Kill Two Birds With One Stone
By Harper Edhels
February 2020
The Stigma
Periods. There, I’ve said it.
Womankind universally seems to suffer an inexplicable taboo around menstruation. A natural process that over half the global population experiences - indeed, the population would not exist without it - yet we experience it behind closed doors, out of the squeamish public eye, in silence.
In fact, period app developers Clue found that there are over 5,000 euphemisms used all around the world to indicate menstruation, instead of just saying the bloody word - English versions including “shark week”, “on the rag”, and “Aunt Flo’s coming to visit”. These euphemisms serve to perpetuate the idea that menstruation cannot be dealt with head on and must instead be clouded in shame.
Period stigma exacerbates gender inequalities in myriad ways; for example, it is estimated that 1 in every 10 girls in continental Africa will skip school when she gets her period. This is both due to the taboo surrounding the process, and lack of access to feminine hygiene products to get her through the school day. Missing school puts girls at a greater risk of dropping out altogether. Plan International UK found that 1 in 10 girls in the UK can’t afford to buy period products, and that 68% of girls found it harder to concentrate in class when they were menstruating. These issues are widening the already cavernous gender gap in educational opportunities around the world.
The Environmental Impact
The environmental degradation brought about by period products is also devastating. The average girl goes through approximately 11,000 disposable pads and/or tampons in her lifetime. These products and their associated packaging amounts to around 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, and it’s predominantly plastic. The majority of this, after a short spell clogging toilets (in the UK, period products account for 75% of all blocked drains per year), will end up in landfill.
Lest we neglect to take into account the production process. Most period products are made from cotton, which is a particularly resource-intensive crop that guzzles water. The products are likely to contain varying levels of polyethylene plastic, dioxin, chlorine and rayon, polluting chemicals that are released into the earth as they sit in landfill for centuries longer than the lifespan of their user.
The Solution…?
But there are other options: reusable period products are changing the game. By setting out to reduce the environmental impact of periods, do away with period stigma and enhance the quality of life for the user, this could be the answer that womankind needs. Reusable silicone cups that are easy to empty and sanitise are one such option. Washable fabric pads are another.
CARE International and WoMena Uganda undertook a study in Imvepi Refugee Settlement a couple of years ago, testing the efficacy and uptake of menstrual cups among women in the refugee camp. Past studies had found that women in the camps had been known to engage in transactional sex just to be able to buy period products, and others had been beaten for attempting to make period products out of fabric from their homes.
By the end of the study there was an 87% uptake in use of the cups amongst the women surveyed, and respondents showed higher confidence levels to attend school and engage with community activities as a result of their use. The women participating also commented on the environmental benefits of the cups, needing less water to wash them out and producing less waste. It was shown that male and community involvement proved to be pivotal in integrating use of the cups into the women’s lifestyles - so breaking down period stigma has incredible value for women’s livelihoods.
ActionAid have also been embarking on a mission to empower women to manage their menstruation. The benefits of their project, providing sewing machines and training women to sew their own reusable fabric pads, are threefold: reducing the environmental impact of disposable products ending up in landfill; giving women a long-term sustainable option for their periods; and allowing the women to generate a small extra income by selling their extra products to other women in need.
With all of these initiatives and plethora of options, that trusty old tampon at the bottom of your handbag is looking increasingly out of style. Reusable period products may be just the solution we need to end period poverty and convert a monthly inconvenience into an empowering act for the environment.
You may also be interested in: Women leading the charge for Climate Justice, Human Rights and the global cotton industry