Environment – Talking about the taboos

When I run sustainability workshops and bring up reusable items, I often hear people say with a smile, “That’s just like what I used back in the day”. Safety razors and loose-leaf tea strainers are classic examples. Reusable period products, however, often get the same reaction, but with a negative connotation even though what’s available today is vastly different from the past.

In the last decade, there’s been a long-overdue boom in technology and research around period care. There are now many new options that remain unfamiliar to a lot of people, so let’s talk about them.

Just under half the population menstruates, yet periods are still a taboo subject. Beyond the health implications of this silence, it’s also important to talk about the economic and environmental costs. Period products are expensive over a lifetime, and their waste has a real impact on the planet.

In fact, sanitary products and nappy waste is so significant that Auckland Council has named it a priority in its Zero Waste goals for 2025. These products are among the top three contributors to greenhouse gas emissions from household rubbish, right alongside food waste and paper. A 2023 council report noted that “after organic materials, the next largest waste stream in household rubbish by weight is nappies and sanitary products, at 12 per cent – and this will increase as more food scraps go into the new food scraps collection service.”

The most common reusable options are period underwear and menstrual cups or discs, which are washed or sterilised and then reused. The annual cost of period products can range from $40 to $328, depending on a person’s needs and if they are using single-use disposable or reusable products.

Someone who uses single-use items such as cotton pads and tampons, will on average, use 18,000 period care items over a lifetime, whereas someone using a cup and underwear might need fewer than 20 products. One brand, Hello Period, has estimated that their products have kept over 662 million single-use items out of landfill.

Reusable products do require care – cups need sterilising, and underwear needs a hot wash—so following care instructions is essential. Although  the upfront cost is higher, the long-term savings and waste reduction are substantial. That’s why several campaigns aimed at addressing period poverty have centred on distributing reusable products, especially underwear. Period poverty is defined as when the high cost of period products prevents people from attending school or work.

This is a deeply personal topic, and this piece certainly does not suggest there is a ‘best’ option or that reusable period products are a good fit for everyone. But I hope this encourages more people to consider the long-term benefits of reusable period care, for ourselves, our wallets, and the planet. There are many great New Zealand owned brands that offer reusable products if you want to know more.