Production
Most feminine hygiene products manufactured in North America contain two absorbent ingredients: rayon and cotton. Rayon, the more absorbent of the two, is made using chlorine gas or chlorine dioxide bleached wood pulp. This bleaching process gives us bright, white fibers, to the detriment of nearby waterways that are heavily polluted with organochlorines - such as dioxins and furans, which are the most toxic, carcinogenic chemicals on earth. Trace amounts of dioxins and furans have been detected in such paper products as facial tissue, coffee filters, diapers, and feminine hygiene products. Studies to determine the health impacts of these toxins in our products - especially the ones we wear next to our most delicate parts - have been slow and almost non-existent. Manufacturers hold a heavy hand against legislature, it seems, and somehow what we would see as necessary testing keeps not happening.

Cotton, the other ingredient in pads and tampons, is by no means an environmental joy. No less than 170 insecticides are registered for use on cotton crops, and the bleaching process for cotton involves formaldehyde, which has its own share of unpleasant effects on the planet.

Menstrual pads also contain various plastics in their layers - on the bottom to prevent clothing from stains and on the top to produce that "breathable" mesh layer. In addition, both pads and pons are packaged using a variety of plastics - especially now with nearly every pad and tampon individually wrapped to keep them "sanitary" and discreet.

Disposable, organic, unbleached, rayon-free tampons and chemical-free pads have become available in recent years, and we applaud this addition to the market. If you decide to choose disposable menstrual products for full-time or occasional use, we recommend you consider these more environmentally responsible options.

While the production of today's menstrual products has a slew of environmental costs, the disposal of these "unmentionables" has another set of problems altogether.

Disposal

Did you know that a woman throws away roughly 10,000-20,000 pads, tampons, and pantiliners in her lifetime?[1] That adds up to over 12 billion sanitary products in landfills or incinerators in the US each year. While the cotton and rayon ingredients eventually biodegrade, the plastics in the pads and in the packaging sit in landfills for centuries, and when burned in incinerators, add toxins to our air.

Now, we could almost stop there if all feminine hygiene products got thrown in the trash, as they are supposed to. Yet, we all know that's not the case, don't we? The toilet's right under us: why not flush it, right? The instructions on many tampon boxes even tell you it's okay. I'll never forget my senior year of college when the "roto-rooter" guy came to clear the clogged plumbing in the house I shared with three other women. He told us he found a whole slew of "white mice" in the pipes and gave us all the message to stop flushing tampons! He also told us that that was one of his most common enemies - white mice! Yuck! So, the environmental impact of menstrual products often starts with trouble for your own home!

What about the feminine products that make it out of our household plumbing and into the local sewage systems? On a good day, tampons, pads, applicators (plastic and cardboard alike) and the other interesting things that people flush, make it to water treatment facilities. There, they get caught in special screens, gathered together, and shipped to a landfill. But it is very common for these "extras" to get past the screens and clog pumping machines and create disasters in the sewage digesters. So don't flush your pads, applicators, or tampons, no matter what the packaging tells you!

While most US cities have sewage treatment plants, they are usually very old, and heavy storms can often overload the plants, causing floods of raw sewage to pour directly into nearby rivers and, for coastal cities, the ocean. In Canada, domestic laws have been passed and international conventions signed to prohibit marine pollution, yet sewage treatment systems in several port cities continue to release massive amounts of raw sewage and toxic substances in the marine environment on a daily basis.[2]  Not only is that just plain gross to think about, but when it comes to feminine hygiene products, all those charming tampons,  applicators, and (yes!) pads make their way into our rivers and oceans. Tampons are thought to sink and eventually biodegrade, but pads seem to float (so the fishermen report), and that smooth gliding plastic pink applicator has become the death of many a fish and the decor of many a sandy beach. I love (hate?) this story from Liz Armstrong's book, Whitewash: