Okay, I’ve known it for seven years now. Feminine products and disposable diapers contain dioxin, a cancer-causing by-product of chlorine bleaching and pesticide spraying. A double-whammy, no? You get your cotton, which is heavily sprayed with pesticides while growing, then you bleach it with chlorine, and you get a lovely, pristine-looking tampon or pad:
For some reason it seems we modern women need our feminine products (and our babies’ diapers) to be blindingly white before we soil them and throw them away. Why? And: do we really?
Do you care if your tampon looks like this before you insert it:
More importantly…can you even tell the difference? This, above, is a Natracare unbleached organic tampon (with applicator).
One reason to steer clear of non-mass-market tampons/pads/diapers? Price.
One reason to opt for the unbleached version? Your health (and your diaper-wearing child’s health, too). Read on for more info on just what dioxin in your pants can mean to you and your family:
Many women are unaware that rayon and rayon-cotton blends are widely used in the manufacture of tampons. Rayon is commonly chlorine-bleached, and is a highly absorbent fibre. Dioxin, a toxic carcinogen, is a by-product of all chlorine bleaching methods and is also found throughout the environment in varying levels as a by-product of pesticide spraying and pollution from incinerators. Dioxin has been found to collect in the fatty tissues of animals, including humans and should, therefore, be a real concern for women. Published scientific reports have shown that evidence is growing that even low levels of dioxins may be linked to cancer, endometriosis, low sperm counts and immune system suppression. Considering a woman may use as many as 11,000 tampons in her lifetime, she may be subjecting herself to additional dioxin exposure.
From www.natracare.com
Seven years ago I heard about this, and switched Girl1 over to cloth diapers. And I loved doing the cloth diaper thing. But I didn’t do it for Girl2, mostly because we had switched to a front-loading washer so it wasn’t possible to just dump the contents of the diaper pail into the machine…I had to actually pluck the diapers out of the pail and place them in the machine. I only did that a few times. But I did often buy Tushies, which are an unbleached, gel-free disposable diaper.
So, I got the dioxin out of their pants, but I haven’t yet managed to get it out of mine. And it wasn’t bothering me, actually, until I stopped to think, while wrapping up my tampon for disposal in the special feminine waste container at Sunshine Village yesterday (there is a sign that says “please do not flush anything other than toilet paper. Sincerely, your working toilet” on the inside of each washroom stall). I thought about all the cotton and paper that goes into my cardboard-applicator tampons. And plastic-applicator tampons are even worse — unless you’re rinsing and recycling the applicators, which I know you’re not, because if you would go to that much mess and trouble you’d be using a Diva Cup:
and not a tampon at all.
So there I am disposing of the paper wrapper, cardboard applicator and cotton tampon (in a hefty wad of toilet paper) and it hits me. My GOD. The waste. The bleach. The toxins slowly leaching into my system after 27 years of menstrual periods. And then there are the pads I wear in addition to the tampons (because pre-pre-menopausal IUD-wearing me has got a narsty heavy period). Again with the bleach, the paper, the plastic wrappers. All of it straight to the landfill.
So I looked up some alternatives. There are the unbleached feminine products, which eliminate the dioxin worry, but not the issue of waste. There’s the Diva Cup, above, which I may just be brave enough to try one of these days soon.
And then there are reusable menstrual pads. Like GladRags.
And I even found instructions for making some yourself here. I plan to try (shall I keep you posted or would you rather not know?)
And in this search for healthier, greener feminine products, I came across Goods 4 Girls. You know the Always TV ad, where the young girl in Africa can’t go to school because she has her period and she has no Always pads to wear? You know, “there are a lot of reasons kids miss school. Being a girl shouldn’t be one of them.”
Well, Goods 4 Girls is the real thing. They’ve addressed the issue of disposal of the “disposable” pads donated by Always:
Providing disposable supplies creates an additional burden on some communities where solid waste disposal consists of burning the garbage. Since many disposable feminine hygiene products contain plastic, incineration potentially creates an environmental and health hazard.
From www.goods4girls.org
I, for one, am going to donate to Goods 4 Girls and vote with my wallet by not purchasing any more mass-market, disposable, bleached feminine products. For home wear I’ll brave a Diva Cup and some re-usable, homemade pads (I’m thinking I’ll recycle, too…old towels will make good terry liners) and for travel I’ll go with unbleached Natracare tampons and pads.
What about you? Are you willing to get rid of the dioxin in your pants?
Filed under: crafts, introspection, motherhood, politics, rants | Tagged: Always pads, dioxin, feminine hygiene supplies, menstruation, Tampax tampons, undyed feminine products, undyed tampons
wonderful kat, thank you. and thanks for the link to natracare & good4girls! i dont think i have the time or stomach for GladRags (im a heavy bleeder {wherent you dying to know??}). i DO plan to switch to unbleached the next time the red waters rage :)
xo
Wow. I will definitely switch to the non bleached. Where can you purchase them? I am not a regular in grocery stores or pharmacies (thanks hubby) but am pretty sure not there. Do tell and let’s challenge each other on this one!
You should be able to find them in the organic section of your regular, large supermarket. Out West, we can get them in Co-Op & Safeway, but not Superstore, Wal-Mart or Costco. Other than that, pick up a large supply at a health food store a few times per year.
[...] Dioxin In Our Pants [...]
Thanks for the information. I am interested in trying different things and did try something that was like the Diva Cup a number of years ago and did not have the greatest experience but am always looking for new things. I will definitely start with the unbleached and see what else comes along.
Hey there, I was just wondering why there is no mention of the Instead cup on your site? They make a product much like the diva cup. While it is not reusable, at least they dont recommend that, but it does not contain dioxin nor does it absorb. I think it is a superb alternative for those not quite ready to go diva but wanting to get rid of the tampon.
the diva cup travels super well, very easy in a public bathroom one you “get the hang of it.” thanks for passing the info around.
yes, diva is ideal for travel! instead of a big box of tampons, you just carry this one tiny thing. and much less mess and bother than pads (reuseable or not). in a public restroom, just empty the cup into the toilet and reinsert it — you don’t need to rinse it every time, as long as you do it once a day or so.
i’ve always found tampons and pads uncomfortable, and looked for alternatives. back in the day, i used to use a sea sponge. but the diva is much simpler. i do find them rather huge, right out of the box, but it is easy to cut them down with scissors for a custom fit :).