Have you ever thought about this? An average adult woman spends one-sixth of her life menstruating - that's 60 days a year, or two full months!
During these two months, we still do our tasks: we study for exams, build our careers, take our children to kindergarten or school, shop for the weekend family lunch, exercise, hike the Blue Trail - and do everything to make it seem as if nothing special is happening to our bodies.
For approximately 1440 hours a year, we pretend not to menstruate. Interesting, isn't it?
According to sociologist Malcolm Gladwell, one can become an expert in any field through ten thousand hours of study and practice. In his book "Outliers," he argues that talent plays a smaller role in the achievements of truly successful people than the time invested in that field - and he defined this magic number as 10,000 hours. Based on the 1440 hours per year mentioned above (counting from the first menstruation), half of humanity should be the Mozart of menstruation within 7 years - right?
Unfortunately not, because we don't spend this enormous amount of time understanding the biological process and its effects, observing ourselves and sharing experiences, but rather concealing the fact of menstruation. What's even more alarming is that the only accepted form of communication currently is advertising, which persuades us to buy more and more disposable, plastic products.
For 1440 hours a year, we use products on the most intimate part of our bodies about which we don't know how they were made, what they are made of, and where they end up after use.
That's why it's especially important to talk about this! To share our experiences, our experiments, our successes and failures, and the methods we know and have proven effective in making this period easier for ourselves. To expose the false claims of advertisements and packaging, and to get to know each other's stories, and thereby our own bodies.
The topic is vast, covering countless areas from cultural taboos to the harmful effects of the chemical components of the most common plastic pads and tampons, to the presentation of various menstrual products. And we also need to know that all this has a huge impact not only on us, but also on our partners, our families, our culture, and last but not least, the environment.
For example, did you know that:
- 90% of sanitary pads sold in stores and 6% of tampons are made of plastic?
These materials never fully decompose, they only break down into smaller and smaller pieces.
- You cannot determine what is in your pad/tampon from the packaging?
Since intimate hygiene products are not considered medical devices, manufacturers are not obliged to list all ingredients - so many chemical substances, synthetic fragrances, and chemicals used to bleach cotton (such as dioxin and chlorine) are not listed on the packaging.
- An average woman throws approximately 200 kilograms of menstrual products into the trash during her lifetime!
And if this doesn't end up in the trash but in the sewage system, it causes further damage.
Fortunately, it doesn't take ten thousand hours to learn about all this; one week, during which the 2020 CONSCIOUS INTIMATE HYGIENE WEEK lasts, is enough for a start.
The #ENVIRONMENSTRUALWEEK, held from October 19th to 25th, provides an opportunity to learn more about disposable intimate products, their effects on our bodies and the environment, and to discover options that are much more sustainable in the long run. The online event offers the chance to attend webinars (Hungarian online lecture: https://fb.me/e/2QEbCDucP), meet experts, get acquainted with eco-conscious brands, make your own pad, and become part of the community.
Thanks to the Green Belt Association, I am also participating in the CONSCIOUS INTIMATE HYGIENE WEEK. On this occasion, I am launching the Hoopla Sewing blog, where from now on we will explore important topics related to menstruation, single-use products, and sustainability.
I consider it extremely important that these sustainable solutions reach as many of you as possible, so I am also appearing as a supporter of #CONSCIOUSINTIMATEHYGIENEWEEK.
Between October 19th and 25th, you will have the opportunity to get a 10% discount on all washable menstrual products.
For the coupon code, subscribe to my newsletter here:
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I would like to express my gratitude to Anna for her contribution to this article. She was clearly captivated by the topic and will help me to provide you with as much credible information as possible about sustainable menstruation and environmentally conscious solutions through the Blog!
Stay here, share your opinions, experiences with us, let's learn from each other! :)
I am wholeheartedly glad that you ARE here with us!
- Hoopla Sewing
(You can find more information about #ENVIRONMENSTRUALWEEK in English here: https://www.wen.org.uk/environmenstrualweek/)