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Menstrual health is not just a question of physical hygiene; it’s about ensuring that everyone who menstruates can live, work, learn, and participate fully in society without exclusion, discrimination, or stigma.

Around 26% of the world’s population, including an estimated 15 million in the UK, menstruate for an average of 37.5 years. Menstruation is a natural and bodily process, for which menstrual products are vital. However, the carbon footprint of period products is often overlooked. In the UK alone, 3.3 billion single-use products, i.e., sanitary pads and tampons, are used annually.

The Environmental Impact of Disposable Menstrual Products

Disposable menstrual products may be convenient, but they come with a significant environmental cost. It’s estimated that in the UK alone, 26,903 tonnes of waste is generated each year from disposable menstrual products. Menstrual pads are made of up to 90% plastic, with a pack of pads equivalent to four plastic bags. This plastic is found throughout the product: in the multiple layers, wings, back sheets, adhesives, and individual wrappers, each pad containing an estimated 2 grams of plastic. Tampons also contain plastic in the applicators, string, and absorbent core. The materials used are all fossil fuel-derived and can take between 500 and 800 years to break down.

Aside from its contribution to plastic pollution, a year’s worth of a typical menstrual product impacts the climate too, with a carbon footprint of 5.3 kg CO2 e, equivalent to 13.5 miles driven by an average fossil fuel-powered vehicle. While not huge for an individual, when multiplied by the 3.3 billion products used annually in the UK, the total carbon footprint is roughly 17.5 million tonnes CO2e, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 4.6 coal-powered plants.

Alternatives to Disposable Menstrual Products

A range of reusable menstrual products offer safer, more affordable, and environment friendly alternatives to disposable pads and tampons. These include menstrual cups, cloth pads, period pants, and reusable tampon applicators. They can last a few years if properly maintained and reduce waste significantly, as well as long-term costs for the consumer.

Research shows that a year of menstrual cup use has less than 1.5% of the environmental impact that disposable products have and only 10% of the cost.  For 10 years of use, the benefits are even clearer: against 12 pads per cycle, a menstrual cup will generate only 0.4% of the plastic waste and 5% of the expense; against 12 tampons per cycle, it will generate only 6% of the waste and 7% of the cost.

On a larger scale, the transition from tampons to menstrual cups would reduce waste by approximately 5,845 tonnes annually, while reusable period underwear could cut waste from disposable pads by around 17,062 tonnes. Combined, that’s a potential waste reduction of over 22,000 tonnes, or around 79% annually. Menstrual cups alone could lower menstrual waste from 37,326 tonnes to just 92 tonnes a year.

While reusable options like menstrual cups or washable pads are cheaper over the long term, the upfront cost can be out of reach for many, especially where public subsidies do not exist.

The Global Impact of Period Poverty

Over 500 million women and girls worldwide lack adequate menstrual hygiene facilities, according to the World Bank. In India alone, over 23 million girls have to drop out of school each year because they lack access to menstrual products, safe spaces, or even adequate education on menstruation. In Bangladesh, nearly half of adolescent girls and 64% of women use unhygienic alternatives such as frayed pieces of cloth or rags. These unhygienic alternatives carry serious health implications and reinforce unhealthy cultural stigmas, shame, and exclusion.

This gendered and wealth-based inequality disproportionately affects women in underprivileged communities, where limited income, restricted access to public services, and stigma around menstruation combine to create strong barriers to menstrual health.

In the majority of low-income households, period products are seen as a luxury rather than a basic right. Shockingly, 21% of people who menstruate in the UK struggled to afford period products in 2023. This leaves individuals having to make the impossible decision of choosing between sanitary products and essentials like food or heating.

Environmental Injustice and Waste

Major brands continue to dominate the market for menstrual products with single-use, disposable items. Disposability by default is still reinforced as the norm through advertising messages, and more sustainable choices remain niche or too costly, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

In regions where there is no waste management infrastructure, sanitary products are incinerated, buried, or flushed, resulting in pollution and public health risks. Waste disposal workers and surrounding communities living near these sites are affected most, bearing the brunt of this pollution despite contributing the least to the problem; they are often the same underprivileged communities that have no access to affordable menstrual products, exacerbating inequality.

Gender Based Disparities

Gendered price inequalities are common in several sectors, but menstrual hygiene products are one of the most notable. The high cost of these fundamental products, along with taboo and stigma around menstruation, creates significant barriers to access. In the UK, one step forward was the abolition of the so-called “tampon tax” (VAT on period products) in January 2021, following the UK’s departure from the EU, lowering the cost of products and removing an additional financial burden for those who menstruate. There is further hope for improvement. In 2020, Scotland became the first country to provide free period products for all, including sustainable, eco-friendly choices, setting a global precedent for menstrual equity and environmental responsibility.

Conclusion

If we’re committed to creating a just and sustainable future, menstrual justice must be on the agenda. Honest conversations about the environmental, cultural, and economic dimensions of menstrual care are essential to ensuring affordable, inclusive, and sustainable products for all. Through education, subsidising reusables, and amplifying community voices, we can shift the social and environmental expenses of menstrual care and give millions the confidence, dignity, and freedom to take charge.