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Everyone is Ditching their Disposables, We Share 6 Reasons Why

Ditch the Disposables

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This is a guest post by Ruby from *WUKA: Plastic Free And Sustainable Period Products.

The time has come, it’s the end of disposable menstrual products, Ruby, the founder of WUKA Period Underwear is here to guide you through to a greener, healthier and happier period.

Let me shock you with some facts:

The average menstruating person disposes of 16,000 tampons or pads in their lifetime and nearly half still flush their tampons down the toilet rather than disposing of them in the bin. To put this into the context of the UK, that’s 2 billion menstrual items flushed down the toilet every year leading to polluted rivers and seas and this costs UK taxpayers a whopping £88 million pound each year in sewer cleaning bills!

Every day thousands of people are switching to reusables as they become aware of the environmental, health and economic impact of disposable menstrual products. To really understand the personal reasons why people switched, we recently asked our Facebook users why they made this change, creating our top 6 reasons why:

Reason 1: A reduction in menstrual cramps, rashes and infection:

Wow, yes this is possible just by switching, no drugs needed!

“I had allergies to pretty much every disposable there was but I’m not rushed and raw in the crotch so it’s good enough for me”. A menstruating mum.

“Shorter periods by 1.5 to 2 days after a year of switching to cloth pads”. 28-year-old menstruator, UK

“Almost non-existent cramps and no rashes”. 32-year-old menstruator, UK

“I have PCOS so I have always had long heavy cycles 7-9 days. Since making the switch to reusable cloth pads and a menstrual cup, my cycle is now 4-5 days of light to medium flow, and no cramping”. 29-year-old menstruator

But how does this happen? Disposable pads contain a non-breathable plastic layer which blocks airflow to the vagina and can cause a painful rash or irritation for some.

 

Related Post: Getting Started with Cloth Sanitary Pads – FAQ’s

Reason 2: Saving money

According to Huff post: On average, a single menstruating person spends £13 on Pads, tampons and panty-liners, which means around £156 a year, just on period products.

Additionally spending £8 every month on the hidden costs such as new underwear due to stains and spillages (who hasn’t been there!) which adds to £96 a year on new underwear.

If you were to use *WUKA Period Wear, a pack of 4 to 5 WUKA replaces two years worth of disposable menstrual products and along with all those extra pairs of underwear, saving literally hundreds of hard earned pounds.

Related Post: How I Saved £84 Last Year by Switching to Reusable Pads 

Reason 3. You’ll leave the Earth cleaner than you found it for the next generations

Reusable means you can use the same product again and again for years, in western countries like the UK, we create more than 200,000 tonnes of waste every year. Most of which is sent to landfill creating huge issues with land and water pollution.

“I am just glad that I am spending less money and helping the environment”. 25 years old menstruator.

Reason 4. Big businesses promote wasteful habits, small ones are leading the way to a sustainable future.

Big brands are keen on you buying and throwing products away, so you keep buying their product providing a regular income, which is why we have yet to see a big name brand produce menstrual underwear.

This won’t be the case forever as every business needs to be socially and environmentally responsible, but for now, small boutique brands are producing reusables for you to enjoy, like the *Mooncup.

 

Related Post: Menstrual Cups are Amazing: Here’s Why…

Reason 5. They are so much easier to use.

OK, so we all learn to put on underwear from a pretty young age. That’s as complicated as it gets. Forget plastic applicators, rustling bags of pads in your handbag, peeling layers of plastic off to wedge a pad down there.

Carry a spare pair. Some leak-proof underwear is as thin as your regular pants while some are slightly padded like WUKA wear, you can use then during any menstruating days completely replacing disposable.

Reason 6. Reusable menstrual products are empowering people

Listening to our customers, we have learned that having your period is something to be proud of, not to shy away from.

“I love wearing WUKA period underwear, it makes me excited about having my period”. 28-year-old menstruator.

Ruby Raut CEO WUKA
As the founder of *WUKA, I’d like to share the story behind the waistband of our Period underwear. We wanted every menstruator to feel empowered and to be proud of being on their period, hence we’re called Wake Up Kick-Ass, Period or WUKA! We created our period underwear so that any menstruation person can have an ultra-luxurious, hygienic, comfortable and eco-friendly period.

WHY YOU SHOULD SWITCH TO WUKA

  1. We are eco-friendly underwear that is comfortable and leak-free.
  2. One underwear will replace more than 100 tampons.
  3. The majority of fabric used to make WUKA is a plant-based material.
  4. You can wear it up to 8 hours, even on your heavy days as it holds 4 tampons worth of blood.
  5. We believe every menstruator should feel empowered.

 

So now it’s your turn to make this sustainable and healthy decision to switch to reusable. Are you in?

ditch their disposables

About Gina Caro

Gina is a content creator and award-winning blogger. Her aim is to help you live a more sustainable & simple life.  Her blog covers zero waste, minimalism, wellbeing & thrift. She currently lives in Cornwall with her partner, two kids and Charles the dog. 

5 thoughts on “Everyone is Ditching their Disposables, We Share 6 Reasons Why”

  1. Completely agree with all of these points, great summary. I switched to House of Callaway reusable pads last year and they are amazing. I get a better nights sleep, less leaks, I can wear them for longer, I save money, no plastic in my pants and I am not creating un-recyclable waste. Visiting from #goinggreenlinky

    1. I made the switch to reusables a few years ago now and I’d never go back to disposables.
      I haven’t heard of the House of Callaway ones. I’ll check those out thanks.

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