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It seems like everywhere I turn I'm running into articles and products that encourage greener living and eco-friendly alternatives to things we use everyday. So it's no wonder that people are beginning to think of environmentally friendly feminine hygiene products.
While many have pointed out the wonders of cloth pads, which are reusable (and come in cute patterns!), I'm not sure how I feel about switching from tampons to something that still makes me feel like I'm waddling around a bit. I don't think I could get over the comfort factor.
I think this is one of the strengths of the Diva Cup, a soft silicone cup that is inserted into the vagina and collects blood from your menstrual cycle. Sounds a bit queasy-making initially, but the cup has some wonderful benefits:
* The Diva Cup can be worn safely for 12 hours at a time - when you're ready to remove it, it can be emptied out, washed with soap and water and reinserted.
* It won't dry out your vaginal lining and it hasn't been bleached, like tampons. Chemical free hygiene products are better for the environment and your body!
*The Diva Cup can be used for a year. I use about 8-10 tampons a month on average. In one year alone, I'm using between 96 and 120 tampons! One Diva Cup costs about $25. You do the math.
* The Diva Cup is a great environmentally friendly alternative to tampons and pads. The website points out the benefits of being a 'Green' Diva:
"Women, on average, experience a lifetime menstruation span of 41 years (11-52). From use of disposable feminine hygiene, an estimated 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons are dumped into the North American environment each year (1998). More than 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along U.S. coastal areas between 1998 and 1999...Although not all women can afford to purchase an energy-efficient hybrid car or convert their home to solar energy, they can reduce dangerous landfill waste by choosing to use a reusable, silicone menstrual cup."
Though the Diva Cup may seem tricky to insert initially, with a little practice, you'll get the hang of it. You'll know that you've inserted the cup properly as there will be no spillage and it will feel comfortable inside you, much like a properly inserted tampon. Check out the websites for the Diva Cup, or other cups (like The Keeper or Moon Cup) for more information and consider making the switch.
Add a Comment23 Comments
My problem with the Diva Cup I have is:
1. Making sure it's inserted right, if it's just a little off, it will leak.
2. It makes it hard to use the bathroom while it's in there (both #1 and #2, I think it puts pressure on the urethra and the bearing down during #2 makes it start to pop put}.
I love the concept of the product, it's just not practical for me.
September 28, 2009 - 3:45amThis Comment
The 'urgh' and 'disguising' comments..did you even read the posts? You can wear it 12 hours. And if you are that disguised by your own bodily fluids, I would love to see you have a baby because THAT is honestly messy. The diva cup is nothing, and once you get the hang of using it, you dont even touch the fluids.
September 26, 2009 - 1:12pmThis Comment
That sounds really utterly disgusting, dangerously unhygienic, and most of all, awfully uncomfortable. URGH.
September 24, 2009 - 3:06amThis Comment
Dangerously unhygienic? You mean less hygienic than stuffing a wad of cotton up your vagina which sucks it dry of all the fluids it needs to stay healthy, and upon removal tears out tiny pieces of your vaginal wall along with leaving tiny fibres embedded in the vaginal wall creating handy little open wounds for infections to fester?
November 9, 2009 - 7:09amThis Comment
It is so comfortable. Admittedly, insertion does take a little learning, but once it's in, you can't feel it. Plus, it doesn't leak.
September 28, 2009 - 5:34amThis Comment
DISGUSTING. I would not want to collect my period blood in a cup and then have to wash it every 2 hours.
September 20, 2009 - 10:07amThis Comment
You don't have to do it every 2 hours. It's every 12 hours. And it's a hundred times better for your vagina (goodbye yeast infections and nasty smells!) and the environment. What's not to love?
November 9, 2009 - 7:05amThis Comment
You don't have to wash it every 2 hours; it's every 12 hours.
September 28, 2009 - 5:33amThis Comment
Great article! Thanks for bringing attention to this simple and effective alternative to tampons and pads. The DivaCup Team www.divacup.com
September 16, 2009 - 8:48pmThis Comment
Here's a presentation I did for a class. The theme was more what women do in the developing world, but we talked about these same products and why they would or wouldn't be good for women there: http://heatherleilamoz.blogspot.com/2009/04/menstruation-in-developing-world.html
September 16, 2009 - 7:22amThis Comment