A More Sustainable Cycle [Modibodi + Thinx]
Never did I think I would be writing a piece about how to make our periods more sustainable but here goes.
Since periods have been a pain in our lives since we were about 12 years old I think it’s something we as women can feel confident in writing about.
For me that’s about 22 years worth of periods of let’s say roughly 20 tampons a month x 12 times a year = 240 tampons a year times 22 years. That’s over 5200 tampons just in my lifetime alone that either end up in our sewage systems or landfills. And if you use those one’s with the plastic applicator, that’s a lot of plastic waste which can’t be recycled and ends up somewhere, most likely a landfill or the ocean.
Even though I don’t use the one’s with the plastic applicator and have been buying organic tampons for a long time, they are still each individually wrapped in plastic which do end up going into our waste system, as well as our water.
In 2019 I finally decided to give some other products a go. I started by trying a menstrual cup for a couple of cycles but I really struggled with this. It just didn’t fit my body well and I ended up having to wear a pad with it to ensure I wasn’t going to be leaking all over the place in the middle of giving a presentation at work, which kind of defeated the purpose as the average non-organic pad takes 500 to 800 years to decompose. An organic cotton tampon takes around six months to biodegrade. However, nonorganic tampon brands aren’t biodegradable: They may be wrapped in plastic or use a plastic applicator. Add that up with the estimated 45 billion menstrual products that end up in the trash every year, that just can’t be good.
Sadly the OrganiCup had to go as it didn’t claim to do what it promised (or it just didn’t work for me personally, I’m sure it does for others). I won’t go into the gory details, but back to organic tampons I had to go. Naturally my Instagram was now flooded with sponsored ads for alternative period products.
Modibodi and Thinx were one of those so I decided to give these ‘period pants’ a go. I thought if I invest in these once they should at least last a while. I know my period lasts about 3-4 days so that’s at least 4 pairs of ‘period pants’ required. I didn’t have that much hope as what happened with the menstrual cup, but the reviews were positive, so I decided to give it a go!
I went for two pairs from Modibodi for the heavier days and bought a couple of pairs of lighter pants from Thinx. Honestly, they are both great! Yes with the Modibodi one’s you do feel a bit padded out and it may not be the best time to wear tight fitting clothes, but they definitely do the trick and are surprisingly not that unpleasant at all.
After my first cycle using these I was seriously surprised about how amazing these pants were and how much they hold and absorb as well as how comfortable they are, especially when sleeping. No smells and they wash easily too which is a bonus.
As far as the brands go, Modibodi is slightly cheaper than Thinx. The Thinx pairs might be a little more flattering and thy have some ‘sexier’ choices on their site but I found they both do exactly what they claim to do. I have heard they are incredible post-partum as well, so pack them in your hospital bags ladies! I’m definitely converted and will be buying more in the near future! Of course, I still keep a few organic tampons on hand for a bit of peace of mind on the heavier days when I’m out and about (just in case), but I’m totally sold and so happy to contributing my small bit towards a greener planet! Every little helps….right?!