Saalt

Disposable pads and tampons, while convenient for millions managing periods, postpartum recovery, or bladder leaks, exact a heavy environmental price. A typical menstruator uses 10,000–15,000 products over a lifetime, generating up to 200 kg of waste. Globally, billions are discarded annually, with U.S. figures alone at 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons yearly. Composed of up to 90% plastic—including rayon, polyester, and polyethylene—these items take 500–800 years to decompose, breaking into microplastics that pollute oceans, soil, and food chains, harming marine life and ecosystems.  The Hidden Cost of Convenience: How Disposable Pads and Tampons Harm Our Planet—and Better Alternatives Production demands massive resources: cotton farming guzzles 10,000–20,000 liters of water per kilogram, plus pesticides polluting waterways. Chemical processing introduces toxic dioxins and PFAS ("forever chemicals"), linked to hormone disruption and cancer, persisting in landfills and ...