Category: Environment

At first glance, climate change and equitable access to menstrual products may seem unrelated. Climate change is a global crisis driven by greenhouse gas emissions from daily activities such as driving cars, using plastic-based products, and raising livestock. Since pre-industrial times, the Earth’s average temperature has risen by about 1.2°C, and scientists warn it could surpass 1.5°C in the 2030s. The consequences are already visible: hotter summers, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent and destructive natural disasters. Simultaneously, menstrual equity remains a pressing concern. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 in 3 U.S. teens experiences “period poverty,” or the lack of reliable access to safe menstrual products. For many young people, schools, doctors’ offices, and local grocery stores are their primary sources of these products. 

Climate change threatens these access points. Natural disasters can interrupt supply chains, floods or storms can close schools and clinics, and heat-related stress can influence reproductive health outcomes. Research also suggests that climate-related stress and extreme heat can physically disrupt menstrual cycles, adding another layer of vulnerability. While many factors influence what menstrual products are bought, the most common, and often cheapest menstrual products, often carry the highest carbon footprint. While many factors influence what products someone may choose,  What may appear to be two separate issues — climate change and menstrual equity — are deeply connected. Without intervention, a warming planet will make it even harder for young people to access safe, affordable, and sustainable menstrual products.

Looking closer, climate change’s impacts on menstrual products are complex and far-reaching. Physically, climate change can exacerbate existing stressors on the body, leading to disruptions in normal menstrual cycles. For example, extended periods of extreme heat have been shown to change hormonal balances, specifically amplifying endocrine disorders and UTIs. Focusing on indigenous peoples’ testimony, insufficient water access during unpredictable rain cycles can affect menstrual hygiene practices. In tandem, intensive disasters like hurricanes, frequent flooding, or forest fires impact supply chains and people’s access to distribution areas. When seeking shelter, menstrual products are often a limited and overlooked resource – food and medication take prominent attention. Just as important, improper menstrual products can cause infections and may worsen a person’s mental health from social stigma. From a health and logistical perspective, climate change worsens menstrual product access by disrupting a person’s health and hindering community access during a crisis event.

Tangentially, single-use, plastic-based menstrual products like tampons and pads remain the most popular choice worldwide. Decades of branding, education, and refinement have made products like tampons and pads safe – and often desirable – compared to unsanitary methods. Nevertheless, the greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with plastic waste, make menstrual products an environmental concern as well. Over the course of a year, single-use menstrual products emit 20 pounds of greenhouse gases during production and transportation – equivalent to charging a phone over 1000 times! In addition, once disposed of, a product like a tampon or a pad is nonbiodegradable; it can take 500-800 years for a single product to fully decompose. As a necessary health product, menstrual products are intensive on the environment during manufacturing, transportation, and in a landfill. While not the largest contributor, continuing to use unsustainable menstrual products slowly contributes to worldwide climate change.

While separate issues, climate change directly impacts local communities and people’s access to sanitary menstrual products. From ongoing health impacts, intensive natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, and single-use products environmental toll, menstrual products are in a catch-22. Nevertheless, sustainable options are more readily available than ever before! Products like menstrual cups are reusable items that are inserted into the canal and can be rewashed for multiple uses. Further, biodegradable pads and tampons are becoming market staples – even if it has a price premium. Resources like the Good Shopping Guide (here) or getting involved in initiatives like the Pad Project (here) can help make a difference too! Regardless, it is important when picking menstrual products, you pick the ones that are best for you – both healthfully and personally. Whether it is a reusable cup or single-use item, ensuring everyone has access to menstrual products is vital. We can change the system, whether by voting with our dollar, pressing companies vocally to change, or working to ensure everyone has access to menstrual products.

Click here to read Laila’s personal story about choosing a birth control method.