Single-use items are turning the world into a landfill. Aznim Ruhana Md Yusup learns about two menstrual care products that are more environmentally-friendly
BACK in Standard Four or Five, a teacher explained to the girls in my class about sanitary pads. The pads came from the shop wrapped in newspaper. People were more embarrassed of periods at that time so things linked to it were literally kept under wraps.
But the talk wasn’t so much on periods or puberty but how to dispose used pads and how they must be thrown in speciallyprovided bins.
School authorities were worried that pupils would throw used pads down the toilet and clog up the pipes.
So even then there had been concerns about the disposal of personal products, although the area of focus was smaller — in this case it was the school and its plumbing system.
But the impact and journey of trash do not end even after being thrown away properly by the individual.
Like most household trash, used sanitary pads are likely to end up in landfills. Depending on what they’re made of, parts of the pad may never fully biodegrade.
CLOTH PADS
Environmental consciousness is one of the reasons why some people are switching to reusable cloth pads, says Natasya Azwin Tawfik Teow, the founder of ByWiwin, which makes cloth pads and panty liners. She runs the business from her home with one employee and sells the products online.
Like commercial sanitary pads, ByWiwin pads come in several lengths to cater to the individual’s period flow and lifestyle, ranging from 23cm to 30.5cm.
One side of the pad is covered with an attractive print fabric while the blood absorbing surface is made of a soft material called Minky.
Bamboo fleece or microfibre is used for the actual absorption. A leak-proof layer keeps things in check while buttons keep the pad in place.
“If you want to ditch disposable pads permanently, you need at least 10 cloth pads in several sizes,” she says. “They should last for as long as you take good care of them. I can personally guarantee they last for four years because that’s as long as I’ve used mine!”
Natasya Azwin, who previously worked in the biotechnology field, discovered cloth pads when she started taking sewing orders for income. She uses them for environmental reasons but her customers have other concerns.
“About half of them are allergic to commercial disposable pads. They feel sore or itchy and even develop rashes. This is not often talked about but it’s more common than you think.
“Others started feeling discomfort after giving birth, particularly when they had an episiotomy because commercial pads can be rough on the stitches. It can even snag on those pads, which is extremely painful,” she says.
USE, WASH AND USE AGAIN
Meanwhile, some women and manufacturers say cloth pads can reduce period pain.
But that’s not something Natasya Azwin is confident enough to claim without scientific proof.
Others use cloth pads to save money. ByWiwin’s heavy flow pack of 10 pads is priced at RM300 but that’s perhaps equal to what disposable pads cost in a single year.
The investment pays for itself considering that cloth pads are reusable for years.
Using cloth pads is no different to disposables including switching to a fresh pad every four to six hours.
But for cloth pads, the blood has to be rinsed off immediately.
ByWiwin makes waterproof bags to store these until a more convenient time to launder them properly, such as when the wearer is at work.
The pad is washed with water and soap, either by hand or in the washing machine. Think of it like clothing or underwear.
Because cloth pads are still relatively new, she gets a lot of questions from potential customers, especially on social media.
This has made her more aware of issues and misinformation concerning women’s bodily fluids and functions.
“Vaginal discharge, for example. You get traditional medicine sellers saying that it’s bad or abnormal when it’s just a regular part of the menstrual cycle. Because of my background in science, I find it important to give people the right information and not just sell my products.
“There are also sceptics who are wary of the repeated use of cloth pads. Personally, I’m not concerned about bacterial infection or anything like that provided you wash the pads properly. But moving forward, it would be good to have some scientific backing to get more people to switch to sustainable options,” she adds.
MENSTRUAL CUP
Another sustainable period care product is the menstrual cup. What happens usually is that people who use disposable sanitary pads switch to cloth pads while tampon users go for menstrual cup. Because like tampons, the cup is inserted into the vagina.
“When insterted correctly, the menstrual cup creates a seal from the outside world,” says medical graduate Daphne Khaw, who sells OrganiCup from Denmark to Malaysian consumers via social media and weekend bazaars.
The cup is made of medical-grade silicone, and is flexible and translucent.
“Period blood is collected inside the cup with no contact to air or external bacteria so there would be no smell or ‘leakages’. Another advantage is that when you have it on, you’re free to indulge in any activity, even scuba diving,” she says.
“This might seem trivial but at the hospital, I’ve had patients asking for pills to delay their periods because they’re going on holiday and they don’t want to be inconvenienced. That’s not good because you’re playing with your hormones.”
Khaw adds that menstrual cups are also cheaper in the long run. OrganiCup retails for RM115 and only one is needed since it is emptied out periodically and inserted again.
Tampons cost about RM30 a month, and locally the options are limited and more difficult to find compared to pads.
“From a physiological perspective, menstrual cups may shorten the length of your period and possibly make it less painful. Period blood flows out because of gravity but the cups also create a suction effect.
“The lining of the uterus, which is expelled to become period blood, is thick and muscles in that area work to push it out. That’s the cause of menstrual pain. But with gravity and suction force, blood will flow faster with a lot less work for the muscles, hence less pain,” she explains.
ALL THAT FOR BLOOD
Khaw’s menstrual cups have an indicator to show how much blood is collected. This helps the wearer keep tabs on their flow and notice any irregularities. Period blood comes to about 10-35ml per cycle on average, or about four teaspoons, says Khaw.
“Imagine how many pads or tampons we throw away for four teaspoons?” she says.
“And we might not even notice any abnormalities because the blood is absorbed straight away. So menstrual cups make you more observant about your body, which is helpful when you need to talk to your doctor.”
The cups come in two sizes. In general, the smaller one is for those who have not given birth vaginally, and the bigger one for those who have.
Inserting the cup requires the wearer to be comfortable with that particular area of the body, so Khaw gives a short anatomy lesson.
“The width of the vaginal opening is 1.5cm to three cm. The cup’s width, when you fold to insert it, should be less than 1cm. The vagina’s length is between 6.5cm and eight cm and the width inside is 4-5cm, which is the full width of the cup. The cup’s length is either 6.5cm or seven cm.
“The vagina has a lot of folds, so the cup will take hold inside of it. It will move along with your body and you won’t feel it. You can leave it on for eight to 10 hours and take it out when it’s full. Throw the content into the toilet, rinse the cup with water, insert and you’re good to go. You will need to practise the first few times but you should be used to it after three cycles.”
The cup is designed to last for 10 years, and needs sterilisation by boiling in hot water after every cycle.
Other common questions regarding the cup is related to virginity, or if it affects vagina size and whether the wearer can do number 1 and 2 in the loo with the cup inside.
So while the topic may be indelicate, questions about it shows how many of us are in need of frank conversations about periods and women’s sexual health.
In their own way, people like Natasya Azwin and Khaw show how it can be done without shame and embarrassment, or have it eclipsed by misinformation and inappropriate comments.