Change is the only constant

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Breaking the silence on periods where your myths will be shattered, Every year India produces 9000 tonnes of sanitary waste…which is about 90% as heavy as the Eiffel Tower.

THE TIME HAS COME TO ACCEPT AND ADAPT TO CHANGE

As a menstrual cup user, you are not only choosing an environmentally friendly period care option. But also they are suitable for Mother Nature, menstrual cups also give you great freedom and flexibility, especially during your Sports and fitness activities. So let us continue with your environmentally friendly choices, and start accepting and adopting ways in which you can make a positive difference.

I used a menstrual cup and found that my whole life turned out easy and comfortable! For years we have been told to use napkins – first, they were cotton cloth. Then the attractive napkins and that ‘hush.

After using the menstrual cup, I mentally cleared everyone who said that sanitary napkin is a lousy thing to use during periods. Because it has never given me the comfort it boasts of, never ever made me freedom and flexibility.

MENSTRUAL CUP

I was apprehensive before using this silicone-based cone-shaped cup with a stem at the end, thinking how am I going to push it inside my vagina? But, guess what? It took me exactly 3 minutes to make the cup into a C shape and set it in. It’s really easy if you can locate the hole. After using it once or twice it didn’t take me more than a minute to use it. While changing a pad still takes me about 10 minutes (don’t get me into those details) even after years of using them. 

It is easier to just pour the collected blood into the toilet pot, gently wash it with water and push it back in again and you’re good to go for no less than 12 hours, even the best sanitary pads never gave me that much comfort. However, for a heavier flow, you might want to change it accordingly but that happens with pads and tampons too, no?

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

Now why I took this step of going the unconventional way was the concern about my own health and the bigger picture – the environment. The toxic chemicals they use in manufacturing pads like dioxins, synthetic fiber, and petrochemical additives. The pad blocks the airflow, locks in heat and wetness, and produces yeast and bacteria in your vagina! This can cause ovarian cancer and heart disease.

Coming on the environmental aspect, pads are the worst and most impactful as they have plastic used in making it and we all know that it takes a gazillion years to decompose plastic. However, tampons are slightly better since it’s mostly cotton. But the cotton fiber used in the production of tampons contributes 80% of their total impact. One tampon takes about six months to decompose and considering that a study revealed that a woman uses anywhere between 8,000 to 17,000 tampons in her lifetime depending on her cycle it will take a long time to decompose for everyone.

Now coming to a menstrual cup, is sterilizable, so one just needs to keep it in boiling water for five minutes to free it of any bacteria. Then the company claims that one cup can be used for as long as 05 years which means no throwing of waste every month and no feeling guilty about destroying your own body and the environment. Every step counts.

While first-world countries have been benefiting from Menstrual cups since 1987 when it came for the first time around there, India is still kind of getting the hang of it. Reasons can be a cultural stigma surrounding menstruation, fear of trying something revolutionary for periods, and so on and so forth. However, now that I have listed down so many advantages of it, all you Indian women and girls must give it a try. Thank me later!

Lastly, the cup I used is made up of a Company Ami Polymer Pvt. Ltd. (APPL) – Imasafe^® Reusable Menstrual cup. Imasafe® Reusable Menstrual cup saves you from period hassles, rashes, skin infection, leakages and allows physical activity, and can last for years together, decreasing waste creation. This translates into improved menstrual health and lowers waste creation. The Unique thing about the cup made by APPL is that it is produced in a clean room of a class 10000 Facility and manufactured with internationally certified compliance.

Posted by

Jigisha Gandhi

The Director of Ami Polymer Pvt. Ltd. and founder of Imasafe menstrual cups.