Did you know that the average woman will dispose of 10,000 period products in her life? That’s a lot of waste…period. You can’t control your period, but you can control the products you use for your period. So many women opt for disposable pads and tampons. Despite their popularity, these products are not so good because they sit in landfills. It also takes 500 to 800 years for them to decompose! The planet will thank us all if we collectively do our part to utilize greener period products. Let’s talk more about how the feminine care industry negatively impacts the planet and how we can use SmartSolve materials to reduce waste, here.
The Scope of the Problem
As we mentioned, women will utilize at least 10,000 period products in their lifetime. If there are 24 period products in one box, that comes out to about 416 boxes of period products. That’s a lot of tampons and pads! The feminine care industry is a big one. In 2020, the industry was valued at $38.9 billion, and by 2030, the industry is projected to be worth around $68.7 billion.
With the feminine care industry worth so much, it is our job to create more sustainable products. So many people are investing in period products, so it only makes sense that, as an industry, we would work to do better for the planet. Right now, here are the products that are on the market in the feminine care industry:
- Tampons and Pads: Pads and tampons produce plastic waste, and feminine products that produce plastic waste are responsible for creating over 200,000 tons of waste each year. They throw away over 12 billion pads and over 7 billion tampons each year—that’s too many!
- Panty Liners: Panty liners are like pads, but they commonly use them, because some women opt to use them when they aren’t even on their period to clean up discharge. As you might expect, panty liners create even more waste, because they use them more often than period products are.
- Menstrual Cups and Washable Period Underwear: Products like these are important because they reduce the amount of period products that enter the landfill. Menstrual cups and washable period underwear can both be reused. They make it so that women don’t have to repurchase and throw out so many pads and tampons.
Environmental Impact of Feminine Care Waste
Many period products are made from materials such as plastics and cotton that are not biodegradable. Between the products and their packaging (which isn’t biodegradable), period products put more microplastics back into our environment. One pad is, surprisingly, actually 90% plastic! This isn’t good for our planet or oceans, as period products are accelerating global warming and climate change.
What Are Some Sustainable Alternatives?
Examples of Eco-Friendly Alternatives
We’ve introduced you to environmentally friendly alternatives like menstrual cups and reusable period products. But, in addition to these feminine care products, organic cotton products are great options for consumers looking to keep using tampons and pads, and biodegradable products are even better.
How SmartSolve Materials Can Help
SmartSolve materials are working to combat environmental issues. You can find SmartSolve materials in Daye’s period products. Daye sells tampons and other period products made with water-soluble materials that can be flushed down the toilet. With the help of SmartSolve’s innovative materials, Daye can help the planet by lowering the waste caused by the feminine care industry.
To Learn More
To learn more about SmartSolve’s product offerings and how you can use them for your specific application, request a sample or contact our team today.
Marketing Manager