Menstruation. Not a topic one really wants to get into but, in the interest of the environment, it's a topic that must raise its unwelcome head. Apart from the obvious damage to the ecosystem caused by flushing tampons, there are the more hidden and sinister side effects such as chlorine bleaching.
The bleaching process is hugely detrimental and totally unnecessary. We have the 'marketing manipulators' to thank for that, by the way. For some reason or other, they have decided that women want pure white tampons. I want to know why? The visual impact of a used, bleached tampon is no prettier than that of unbleached products. These so-called gurus need to change their marketing tactics and honestly, it's up to us women to start lobbying for change. (Write to them, for starters. I've worked extensively in marketing and they do take note.)
Anyway, moving on. To obtain those whiter-than-white tampons, a chlorine based bleaching process is used. This produces chemicals called organochlorines.
One family of organochlorines is the dioxins - the most dangerous member being 2,3,7,8-TCDD. So far, no safe level of this chemical has been found. The risks to our health over a prolonged period of time include damage to our immune system, birth defects, reproductive effects and cancer. Nice? Not.
Then there's the direct damage to the environment. For every ton of paper bleached with, approximately 50kg of organochlorines are formed. This means that between 51,000 and 87,000 tons of chemicals are discharged into the environment every year. Horrendous! All this so that we ladies can purchase snowy white tampons.
Until the manufacturers start to take notice of the damage they're wreaking on our bodies and our world, women should start looking for alternatives to standard sanitary products. There are a few options available, but none of those are all that appealing. Not to me, at any rate. One product I do like though, are the Sea Pearls. Natural, re-usable sea sponge tampons.
I like everything about these sponges. They are natural, washable, easy to use, a heck of a lot cheaper, and the very act of harvesting them releases the sponge's eggs and sperm cells into the surrounding water, making it a renewable and sustainable product source.
Credits go to GreenDaily.com. This post was made here in hopes that it will help the environment. Original post can be found here.
