Environmentally sustainable SANITARY OPTIONS

PREPARED BY Lunette for the

Let’s start with the problem...• Conventional Sanitary pads (being plastic) create a favourable

environment for growth of bacteria and fungal infections, so users are recommended to change pads after 4-8 hours, or tampon every 3 hours (so that’s 8 changes per day, that’s over 22 per cycle)

• Each user throws away 1 shopping bag worth of plastics, wrappers and tampons per period cycle (av. 13 periods per year)

• The average menstruating person uses 11 000 disposable menstrual hygiene products in their lifetime

There are six million (6 000 000) people in Australian and New Zealand menstruating per month, every month!!

Conventional Disposable pads

90% of a conventional sanitary napkin is made of plastic polymers:

• Backing• Adhesive strips• Dri-weave top sheet• Packaging

Conventional Tampons• Cost you around $8-$15 per month• Typically made from bleached cotton or rayon• Slight risk of TSS• Removes 35% of healthy vaginal secretions(this is why tampons can cause dryness and irritation)

Waste water treatment...• Around 192 million pads and

tampons end up in our waste water each year

• Water treatment plants must remove these

• Millions of litres of clean water is wasted each year treating the waste water

Blocked plumbing pipes

Around 80% of 11-24yo people still flush their tampons down the toilet.

Up to 75% of blocked drains are caused by coventional disposable sanitary items.

Over 1 Billion Pads & 700

Million Tampons are discarded

by Australian & New

Zealanders EVERY YEAR!

BREAKDOWN TIME: Conventional Pads: around 300yearsConventional Tampons: 6months- 5years

Sure, Pads and Tampons can make beautiful things

Let’s look at the solution

Biodegradable single-use pads and tampons

Cloth Pads & Reusable Period Underpants

Menstrual Cups

Biodegradable single-usePADSMade from organic cotton or bamboo fibre mix, any plastic materials are biodegradable

TAMPONSMade from organic cotton fibres

These are compostable and break down quickly once disposed of (around 3months in optimal conditons).

Reusable Period Pants

• Leak-proof, odour absorbing, moisture wicking, re-usable underwear

• Made from stain resistant anti-microbial fabrics

• Available in varying absorbencies-light flow(1/2 teaspoon or tampon) to heavy flow (2 teaspoons or 2 tampons)

• Use→ rinse in cold water→ put in washing machine (no fabric softener) →air dry →re-use

Cloth Pads• Cloth pads come in a variety of shapes, colours, sizes

and absorbency. They have the following features:• A waterproof backing made from PUL (polyurethane

laminated) material• An absorbent material in the middle layer such as

hemp fabric, bamboo velour or cotton fleece• A soft cotton top fabric• With proper care should last for 5 years

Menstrual cups

• Made from 100% medical silicone• Hypoallergenic• Is used internally like a tampon • Empty when full or every 12hrs• Can be used during the night• Can be used by all including

teenagers and virgins• Easy to clean and use • One cup can last for up to 10

years when used with care

$$ Savings $$Over 10 Years, the costs for an Australian or New Zealander are

• Pads & tampons (@ $15 /period) = $2000

• Cloth pads or Period Pants = $200-$300

• Menstrual cup = $50-70

By switching to reusable options this equates to a saving of over

$8 000 during your menstruating life !!!

The choice is yours

Start where you are,

Use what you have,

Be an Agent of change…