Let’s talk about tampons

How many sanitary products does the average Bristol woman use in her lifetime? It turns out that if you do the sums the answer is over 11,000. That equates to quite a bit of money. Depending on what you buy, and where you buy it, the lifetime cost will be somewhere between £1,500 and £3,500.

The cost to the environment could be much greater. Those 11,000 products amount to a whopping 150 kg of waste, much of which is plastic and contains bleach and other harmful chemicals. This will either go into landfill, or be incinerated with the risk of giving off carcinogenic fumes.

Then there are taxes. Medical treatment and health care are supposedly exempt from VAT, but sanitary products are not included in this. In 2001 the government did agree to put them on a reduced rate, but we still pay five per cent VAT on them. 

For most Bristol women this is an inconvenience, but for the poorest members of society it is a real problem. Women who are homeless, for example, can’t afford to be spending a lot of money on tampons. So they tend to skimp on that, which can lead to poor hygiene, and to ill health. Shelters for the homeless get a government grant to buy condoms for people they are helping, but there is no help when it comes to sanitary products.

In developing countries the problem is much worse because the cost of Western sanitary products is vast compared to basics such as food and shelter. Consequently most women don’t use them. As with homeless women here, the alternatives can lead to poor health and worse. UNESCO estimates that ten per cent of African girls miss school time during menses. This inevitably leads to poor educational results. In some cases young women have been known to turn to sex work to be able to afford sanitary products.

The obvious solution to this is re-usable sanitary wear. Washable sanitary pads can last from six months to three years, and are much more comfortable than disposable ones as they are made from natural fibres rather than plastic. The best value comes from a re-usable cup made of medical grade silicon. These start to pay off after six-seven months, and can last up to ten years. They sound uncomfortable, but many women who use cups say you quickly get used to them.

Much of this information comes from Chloe Tingle, a recent Bristol University graduate who has set up a not-for-profit organisation called No More Taboo. Re-usable sanitary products are available by mail order from their website, and a full-blown online shop will be added soon.

It sounds like a great idea, but getting anything done in this area is very difficult because menstruation is one of those things that people are very reluctant to talk about. Chloe called the organization No More Taboo for precisely that reason.

Thankfully things are improving. These days we even have an International Menstrual Hygiene Day. It is on May 28. Chloe and her colleagues are hoping to organise an event in Bristol. There will be more information soon, and details of how you can help, on their website.

Let’s talk, because it hurts more not to.