Having an Eco Period | Blog & Review

Note: some of the items included in this post were sent to me for review but all opinions are honest and my own. 

If you follow me on social media, then you will know that in the middle of last year I decided to ditch tampons and disposable pads. I made this choice for a couple of reasons, but the biggest thing was the environmental benefit. I can't imagine how many tampons get flushed every day and even though we are told that it's okay to flush tampons they still must go somewhere right? It's the same with disposable pads. Every period since having Smidge I had been using pads as I found them more comfortable and I was throwing at least 8 pads per period into the bin and there for straight to landfill. I hated knowing I was having that kind of impact. It just made no sense to me and I figured that there must have been a better way, so I started researching and found a whole new way to have a period in an eco-friendly way. At the start of this new year I’ve seen so many people posting about how they’d like to be more eco and sustainable and making the way when it comes to your period is a great place to start. There are so many different options available and what works for you will be personal to you. I have tried a couple of different eco/reusable period products, so I thought I’d share my pros and cons in the hope of inspiring you to try a different way if you aren’t already. 

Lets start with the product that started it all for me...the menstrual cup. I personally use the OrganiCup and have done since the middle of last year. I used the 'Put a cup in it' website to see which menstrual cup would be best for me and OrganiCup was the one it suggested to me. There are loads of different cups on the market, but I’ve found the OrganiCup to be soft whilst still being sturdy enough not to cause any leaks. It cleans up well and doesn’t discolour and it is a great price at just £19.99. I brought a B sized cup as that was what the website recommended to me because I’ve had children but if you are young and/or haven’t had children then they do a smaller cup too. There are a couple of downsides with cups though. The first is that you do have to get a bit intimate to put them in and remove them. There are loads of videos and websites that can help you with different folds and ways to insert them but I found that I was having to get right “in there” to get it in place and to make sure it was comfortable and wouldn’t leak. This doesn’t bother me, but I know some people don’t really like the idea of having to do this. The only other downfall is emptying it. When you’re at home it’s fine and you can just put the blood down the toilet and then rinse the cup before reinserting but it can be difficult when you’re in a public bathroom where the sink is outside the toilet cubicle. I found the best way to get around this was to empty the cup in the loo and wipe it out with some loo roll. Then, head to sink and give it a quick risen (even though most of the blood is removed when you wipe it with loo roll) and then head back into the toilet to reinsert. It’s a bit of a faff and you can get wipes that you can use to avoid having to go in and out the loo if you want them. Overall, cups are great if they work for you. I know some people who love them and some who hate them so it’s really down to personal preference.

Working on the same principle of things going inside you to capture your period, you can now get reusable tampon applications and biodegradable tampons. Obviously they aren’t as eco as cups and some of the other options as the still take a very long time to decompose and they aren’t as friendly on your purse as you still have to buy tampons as you need them BUT they are better than conventional tampons and the plastic single use applicators . I haven’t used either of these as I use my cup so if you’ve used then then let me know how you find them! 

Photo from WUKA website - definitely NOT me! 

Next up we have probably my favourite of them all and a pretty recent discover for me... period pants! Period pants are basically a pair of knickers that have a reusable pad built into them. There are a few different brands available but there are two in particular that I have been loving. Modibodi and WUKA are the brands you want to check out if you fancy making the swap to period pants as I have tried them both and they are both brilliant. WUKA trumps it between the two of them though as I find their sizing better and the pants slightly more comfortable. The thing I love about period pants is how comfortable and convenient they are. You don't have to worry about shoving anything up your hoo haa which is great during the heavy periods that happen sometimes, and you don't have to worry about emptying them when out. They have a super long absorbent bit along the centre which means they don't leak, and they absorb super quick too. The only con that I've found is that you do need to buy about 3 or 4 pairs as I found that I was needing to wash the 2 pairs that I had quite a lot which can be a pain especially if you've caught up with all your washing. Overall though, I am loving period pants! 

The final product I want to mention is reusable pads. I haven't actually tried these yet, but I am hoping to soon. Reusable pads are exactly what they say on the tin. They are menstrual pads that you can wash and reuse. There are loads of these on the market at the moment, but my favourite brand has to be Wear 'em Out by the lovely Lauren! I have been following Lauren on Instagram for a while now and the amount of work that she has out into making these pads perfect is insane! She has literally thought about everything from a pattern that isn't garish or in your face to a little double-sided bag that you can keep your clean pads in and pop your used pads into when you’re out and about. Her pads are hopefully being launched in February and I, for one, will be grabbing myself some to try that out and I am so excited! If you want updates of when they are available to order just head to the Wear 'em Out page here. 

So, there you have it. So many options to help you have an eco-period. There really is something for everyone and I would strongly suggest giving something a go from this list as we don't need a handful of people doing this perfectly, we need millions of people just doing whatever they can!