Plastic Bags and Feminine Care: Two Very Important Things

To date, I have interviewed 34 women for the “Power of One Woman,” project. And with every interview, my mind and world have continually been expanded by these women’s amazing work for the earth. With every conversation, book, and website studied, I continue to learn incredible facts regarding our health and that of the planet. It is a mind expanding year filled with new truths, discoveries, and inspirations.
Among these many truths I have learned and desire to share with others, I am extremely moved by the facts regarding feminine care and our use of plastic bags. Both impact our health strongly and also have very viable solutions. Women’s conventional pads and tampons contain harmful chemicals such as dioxin, chlorine and pesticides. Both pads and tampons are made of a rayon blend bleached with chlorine, a know carcinogen; the whitening process produces the highly toxic chemical dioxin. According to www.dictionary.com dioxin is “A highly toxic and environmentally persistent compound, C12H4O2Cl4, produced as a byproduct in some manufacturing processes, notably herbicide production and paper bleaching.” According to the “Campaign for Safe Cosmetics,” “even trace levels [of dioxin] are concerning because dioxins are cancer causing agents; can disrupt the hormone system; have been linked to endometriosis; and can affect the body at very low levels. The amount of dioxin in our bodies is already above the “safe” limits.” Whereas, organic tampons are made from unbleached cotton and pads are made from a non-toxic, unbleached natural blend; both are free of dyes and fragrances.
I first learned these truths from interviewing Sheila Hollender, Women’s Health Advocate at Seventh Generation Corporation. Sheila has devoted her time and energy in educating women that chemically invasive and harmful chemicals are going into the most chemically sensitive area of women’s bodies and effects are seen through endometriosis, toxic shock syndrome and links to ovarian cancers (the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.). Making the switch from conventional to organic feminine care is accessible and as most major grocery chains carry organic pads and tampons; and making this switch has a major impact on women’s health. I think of the line from the children’s movie, “Alpha & Omega,” “Stop the insanity; go organic.”
The second thing is our use of Plastic Bags. When interviewing Dr. Terrie Williams, professor of Biology at UCSC, I learned that over 100,000 marine mammals and birds die annually from ingesting plastic. Animals are mistaking plastic as their prey. Dr. Williams pulled a plastic bag from a beached sperm whale’s intestines where plastic was ruled as the majestic animal’s cause of death. Plastic bags take an estimate of 500-1000 years to decompose. Plastic bags line the sides of highways escaping from moving vehicles such as trash trucks, thus making their way into the rivers and eventually the oceans. On one 10 hour drive I noticed hundreds in not thousands of bags on the roadsides as I traveled through six states. To offset this, many grocery stores are instituting reusable bag programs.
Bringing in our own bags and buying organic feminine care are relatively easy solutions considering the positive effects they have on women’s health and saving animals’ lives. Let’s make the switch! For more information please visit http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=300 and www.reuseit.com/learn-more