Your period can be better for your health and the planet. Most common drugstore period products do not consider environmental sustainability or women’s health. These five brands are working to make your period safer and more sustainable at an affordable cost.
MoonPads
Women owned and operated, MoonPads began with a mission to provide essential menstrual products to communities in need across the globe. That mission continues, with an added focus on creating and distributing menstrual products that are both compatible with women and the environment. The company has been widely successful, with their products now being available for purchase on Amazon, the largest online marketplace.
Their products include standard pads, tampons, and pantyliners. MoonPads has designed compostable and biodegradable options of these products to combat plastic waste associated with menstrual care.
Every Cycle
According to the National Center for Health Research, 70% of menstruating Americans use tampons during their menstrual cycle. It is estimated that 11,000 to 16,000 tampons are used by the average person over the course of years that they menstruate. Most tampons supply a single-use plastic applicator in their packaging, resulting in a large volume of plastic waste per person over time[1].
Every Cycle acknowledged this waste problem to come up with a solution. They developed a safe and reusable tampon applicator. The device is designed to be used with digital tampons that are not sold with plastic applicators attached. The user simply places the digital tampon into the reusable applicator, inserts as one would with a standard tampon, and rinses the reusable applicator clean.
The company also sells digital tampons free of dyes and other irritants to be used with their reusable applicator.
Saalt
Certified plastic negative and B-Corp company, Saalt, began from the realization that many communities of women and girls across the globe experience period poverty. Period poverty occurs when opportunities or education for women and girls are missed due to insufficient access to essential period hygiene products through high costs or lack of distribution.
Saalt realized that reusable period products may be the solution to single-use plastic waste and to the lack of practical and affordable period resources women face globally. The company now offers reusable period underwear, menstrual cups, and discs. Centered around giving back, Saalt also donates 2% of sales and reusable products to communities struggling with period poverty[2].
Dame
Standard period products found at the drugstore contain concerning levels of chemical byproducts from their production. Dame believes that women should not have to risk their health for maintenance of their periods[3].
Dame commits to providing not only reusable period products, like washable pads, but also to providing single-use products made from organic cotton that are free from pesticides and other harmful toxins at an affordable price.
&Sisters
Certified by the Soil Association and the Global Organic Textile Standards for quality control and safety, &Sisters uses only organic materials in their period products. Created by a mother and daughter duo, &Sisters offers period products to consumers concerned about the safety and impact of their period products.
The company is a 1% For The Planet member, donating funds to environmental non-profits across the globe[4]. They offer safe, affordable period products including tampons, pads, and applicators. Uniquely, they offer a stain removal product, Remuvie, made from plant-based ingredients, free from bleach and other common, toxic chemicals.
