After many steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle of course I tried myself out to reduce waste. I’m always suprised on how Germany is perceived as an environmental friendly country. Maybe because we have a recylcing system? Though in fact this system doesn’t work very well. Germany exports a lot of its waste to asian countries and then lists them as recycled. Read further about it here. Without getting too much into details here, it get’s clear that until we have more political will unfortunately we have to take the time to look for more sustainable options ourselves and luckily there are more and more innovative, greener products every year and demand is increasing.
When it comes to the bathroom and personal hygiene there is a lot potential to reduce waste and be more sustainable. I am buying soap and shampoo in bars, I use reusable make-up pads, I have a steel razor, I buy recycled toilet paper from a social business supporting international hygiene projects and I use towels made from wood fabrics that plant 2 trees for each towel. What was a bit difficult so far was to avoid waste while having my period. The average woman uses about 240 tampons each year. Over the course of a lifetime, a single menstruator will use somewhere between 5 and 15 thousand pads and tampons, the vast majority of which will wind up in landfills as plastic waste (click here for details), not even mentioning the amount of money that this demands.
My personal experience
I tried using the cup, but it didn’t really work for me well. So I read about the possibility of period underwear that can simply be washed with the laundry after being used. I got lucky and got to test one. I tested the rose pants from pourprées. The company was founded by two young women in France. They produce their pants in France, which means they have good and transparent working conditions. According to pourprées their pants last up to 4 years, which means one pants can save a lot of tampons and pads. They are also certified organic and free from any toxic materials, which is an important aspect to me personally as this is also a huge topic when it comes to health issues and hygiene products for women.
I tested the panties on my second period day which is my strongest day. Eventhough the pants I was testing was labeled as for weak to medium strong days it worked just perfect for me. It said it lasts up to 12 h, however I could use it one day and night. I was testing it during this really hot August we had in Germany with an average of 35 degrees. I really enjoyed using this menstrual pants instead of conventional products that are usually with a lot of plastic and that are very uncomfortable especially when it get’s so hot.
The pants fits tight, so it covers everything well and it also doesn’t feel wet over a longer time as the pants soaks up the blood. Overall I feedbacked my great experience to pourprees and think this is a perfect way to help women make their period more convenient and also reduce waste in the bathroom.
* for transparency – PR sample, not sponsored
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