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I did some math recently that I deeply regret doing. The average person who menstruates will use somewhere around 10,000 disposable period products across their lifetime. Ten thousand. That's not a typo, and I had to sit with it for a minute.
Most disposable pads are made up of a surprising amount of plastic, and researchers estimate that in the U.S. alone, billions of pads and tampons get thrown away every single year. A lot of that ends up in landfills for centuries, and some finds its way into waterways. It's not exactly a fun topic for a Tuesday morning, but it's one I think about every time I toss something into the trash without a second thought.
What surprised me most in reading up on this is that life-cycle studies comparing different period products consistently find that reusable options — cups, discs, and period underwear — have dramatically lower environmental impact than single-use products, in some comparisons cutting the footprint by well over 90%. That's not a marginal improvement. That's a completely different category of impact.
Here's the part that doesn't get talked about enough: it's not only a landfill problem, it's a chemical one too. Some reusable products on the market still contain PFAS, the so-called "forever chemicals" that don't break down in the environment or in our bodies. So switching to "reusable" alone isn't automatically the win — it matters what the reusable thing is actually made of.
This is a big part of why I care about materials the way I do. Our Lyra Bamboo Menstrual Underwear is made without PFAS, using bamboo viscose that's breathable, naturally moisture-wicking, and a genuinely renewable resource — bamboo grows absurdly fast compared to cotton and needs far less water to cultivate. It's the kind of small swap that adds up over a decade of periods.
● Start with one or two pairs of period underwear for your lighter days, and build from there.
● Wash in cool water and skip the dryer when you can — it extends the life of the fabric significantly.
● Pair with a menstrual cup for heavier days if you want a fully reusable rotation.
● Don't guilt yourself over what you used to buy. This is a forward-looking swap, not a referendum on your past self.
If you want the full breakdown of how different products stack up environmentally,
Stanford Magazine published a genuinely readable explainer on exactly this, with the kind of nerdy detail I personally find weirdly comforting.
You don't need a zero-waste bathroom or a mason jar collection to make this count. A couple pairs of well-made, well-loved underwear in rotation is a real, measurable difference — and honestly, they're just more comfortable too. Win-win, planet included.
Until next time, take good care of you.
xo, Debbie
