Before you bag the next sanitary product on the shelf, you might want to think twice. The hard truth is that you are just about to purchase a toxic concoction of plastic, synthetic materials, chemicals, and bleach that can pose serious health risks to your lady parts. And where is the evidence on the product that might suggest such? Because of an FDA loophole that calls feminine hygiene products ‘medical devices’, manufacturers are not required to disclose all the ingredients they contain. Thus, you will usually find no trace of the following ingredients:
Plastic:
Most conventional feminine hygiene products are made from over 90% petroleum-based plastic. Two hazardous chemicals are normally found in plastic: bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. BPA has been linked to hormonal disruption, cancer, and heart disease. Phthalates, which is used to soften and increase the flexibility of plastic, have been linked to hormonal disruption and gene expression disregulation.
Pesticides and GMO:
Traditional feminine care is typically made of wood pulp or in some cases, cotton. Wood pulp is from trees that are grown for being cut down and used as fluff. The cotton is most likely genetically modified or treated with numerous pesticides, many of which are suspected human carcinogens.
Chlorine Bleach:
Ever wonder why feminine hygiene products are so bright white? To achieve that pure white color, manufacturers chlorine bleaches the wood pulp in pads. A byproduct that forms from this bleaching process is dioxins. Dioxins have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and immune system damage. While governmental agencies believe that ‘trace amounts’ of dioxins are acceptable and safe to the human body, wouldn’t the amount add up when the average woman uses between 16,000 and 24,000 pads in her lifetime?
Other Chemicals
Pads and tampons can contain a chemical soup of odor neutralizers, fragrances, artificial colors, polyester, adhesives, polyethylene (PET), polypropylene and propylene glycol (PEG). All such ingredients have been linked to hormonal disruption, cancer, birth defects, dryness, and infertility.
We all know that skin is our bodies’ largest organ. It is also the thinnest and most permeable organ. Just as how we should be conscious of what we put in our mouths, we should be conscious what we apply to our skin.
Fortunately, there are healthier alternatives on the market that will not let these elements leach into our bloodstream. A good place to start is biodegradable pads or organic disposable pads like Saathi, Purganics, and Natracare. One can also consider reusable pads or cups like Saukhyam, Ecofemme or DivaCups. In any case, let’s all be kinder to our bodies and choose the sustainable route.
6 month to fully decomposed in any condition? Or begin the decomposition on the 6th month?
Hello, I think it’s a great idea, it contributes to our planet, but I would like to know how efficient it is with absorption, and what is sublayer body facing side made of to avoid spills?
Saathi is a great product and reduces waste. But is it safe to use from a health perspective? Will it affect the health of the user in any way? Agreed that it won’t be undergoing chemical processes and won’t have any fertilizers residues. But is the banana fiber safe for a woman’s health?
This is a revolutionary initiative – strength to your efforts!
It’s particularly heartening that the price of the Saathi pads is far less than the toxic plastic-laced products that own the markets currently, and that women have had no options but to buy till now. I hope intelligent and empathetic governments – that’s not necessarily an oxymoron :) – will help promote products like Saathi’s on massive scale through awareness campaigns combined with pricing mechanisms that can lower the pad costs even further to make them available to poor and well-off alike without compromising on stringent quality norms.