Eco Friendly House And Garden

There has been more and more talk about reducing the amount of natural materials we use in everyday products like clothes and home furnishings – but they last a long time.

Why hasn’t there been more attention paid to disposable natural materials that only get the one use before being discarded – like feminine hygiene products.

There are a huge number of females on the planet that need to use these items every month, and for several days of every month. But we just use them for a few hours then throw them away.

Not only are tampons linked with serious and potentially fatal health issues, but they are also a great polluter with it’s links to chlorine bleaching and the whole products are also polluting in themselves when incinerated and with less-then-eco friendly (irresponsible) ‘owners’ flushing them down the toilet!

One recent quote from 2008 estimated that around 2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million sanitary towels and 700,000 pantyliners were being flushed sown into public waste water systems – which all needs to be cleaned up!

Personal Hygiene Problems.
Besides the fact that they are excessively packaged to keep them clean, they are sometimes also highly scented (wasteful and more noticeable to other females), with added gels or lubricants (often known pollutants or endocrine disruptors), added colourings (wasteful and possibly allergy-triggering), they also come in a range of different sizes and types that are really a waste of resources.

All this choice might make it seem a fairer choice for females – but isn’t it just a way for ladies to use the wrong product?

For example, a lady buying 1 box of tampons may buy the medium strength variety as a general ‘favourite’ for most of the cycle, but then towards the end of the cycle may need only the least strength variety – but will she go out to buy them separately? Probably not.

She will continue to use the same ones she already has in the bathroom, using more resources than she actually needs. However, as they are only a ‘disposible’ product some people don’t worry too much about something they have in excess.

It’s the same a those people who throw away the used plastic knives and forks after a garden party rather than wash them up and save for next time. They are made to be disposable, so you find yourself (and your guests) just throwing them away!

Now, I am not suggesting that you re-use disposable sanitary products in any way – but at least only use the smallest least-wasteful product for your needs. Or, find yourself a re-usable product that does the same thing!

Re-Usable Products.
You might be amazed at how many products are out there for sanitary protection – if only you could drag yourself away from the highly marketed products you repeatedly buy from your high street drug stores or super markets!

There are many companies that make washable sanitary towels out of terry cotton that are made in a variety of sizes. They are fully adjustable to make a perfect fit for everyone and are fully machine washable and tumble-drier friendly!

There are also washable sponges that work under the same principle as tampons, but are fully re-usable and therefore eco friendly!

And finally, there is a new style of product known as ‘The Moon Cup’ or ‘The Keeper’ (depending on the material used) which is re-usable and contains no known harmful chemicals.

These small cups are designed to fit inside a female in the same way as a tampon, but instead of ‘absorbing’, they ‘collect’. Therefore, instead of throwing them away after use, you actually just empty them, rinse them clean, then re-use.

The savings are immense. Not only can they save on natural materials, chemicals, packaging, transport, and disposal – they will also save you money! Month after month, year after year!

Both the Keeper and the Moon Cup are both accredited by the Good Shopping Guide, whereas Always, Carefree and Tampax are brands that get the highest levels of criticism for their eco friendly attributes!

Here, we continue from yesterday, with the final 3 tips on making those small steps to running a healthy eco friendly house!

5) Don’t Do Disposable!  Try to reduce your consumption of disposable items – they are everywhere.  Pens, sticky note pads, razors, toothbrushes, cotton-buds, cotton wool balls, facial pads, tissues, baby wipes, hygiene wipes, even personal ‘lady’ items.

Try to find the longer lasting equivalent – it’s not less hygienic if you do it properly.  For example facecloths instead of wipes or cotton wool is perfectly clean and gets the job done – then gets washed – and does the job all over again!

Toothbrushes with changeable heads and razors with replaceable blades all go towards reducing waste – and reducing your consumption of new materials.

Feminine hygiene products now come unbleached, and in smaller sizes to help reduce waste and resources – but now even come in washable versions.  There is even the menstrual cup today (a small insertable item that will ‘contain’ rather than ‘absorb’) that does away with the need for cotton products altogether!

Similarly, the contraceptive device known as The Coil (an IUD) works perfectly well as a contraceptive device for most women – reducing the need for wasteful alternatives.

In sexually active individuals and couples, one Coil could reduce the need for a continual supply of ‘the Pill’ – filled with either/or both oestrogen and progesterone (which eventually leave our bodies and enter the water system and affecting animals and plants) and could stop the rising tide of used condoms filling landfills or floating down the beach!

6) Buy Big!  Make sure that you buy the largest pack size of your products that you can.  Not only does this reduce packaging per unit – it should also save you money and reduce your weekly trash pile! 

Therefore, not only will you need to shop less as a result, the container is more likely to be re-used for storage.  (You can keep a smaller bottle for decanting into if space is an issue).

Don’t be tempted by promotions or buy-one-get-one-free offers for the smaller products.  They usually work out the most expensive way to buy your products, weight more with the extra containers, use more ink and labels with their individual wrapping or information, take up more room in your house and create more waste.  Therefore their overall ‘cost’ is not actually any cheaper!

And Finally (7):
Try something new if it’s eco credentials impress you.  Remember that advertised brands in commercials and magazines, pay $$$$$$$’s to advertise – and it’s you who pays for it.

You pay for that model to walk along tropical beaches for an ice cream, or that famous person to fly a plane for some anti-aging cream, or a mountaineer to climb a high mountain for a washing powder.  That must mean that they are making a huge profit from you somewhere – and that means that their products are made a lot cheaper than the price you pay!

Unadvertised products usually put a lot more into their products as they sell by word of mouth saving advertising costs.  And, in all honesty – noone recommends a product that doesn’t work, taste good or fit properly. 

So trust a brand that has been recommended by people you know sometimes instead of just believing what you are told on the TV!

Let me know how you get on, or have any other tips…….