Around Earth Day, folks like to talk about sustainability — economically, environmentally, and socially. Of course, we discuss using reusable products (which admittedly, hit more of the first two factors rather than the latter), and inevitably the talk turns to menstruation. A commonly cited statistic is that the average woman uses 240 tampons a year or around 9,600 over her lifetime. For those who prefer sanitary pads, the average is 350 packs of sanitary pads over their lifetime — which, by the way, require as long as 800 years to decompose.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen in your social media feeds all sorts of ads for period underwear, menstrual cups, or cloth pads. I was so curious about these different types of products — especially about the period underwear. How wonderful did it sound not to insert anything into my vagina or not use a pad? Just fork over a ton of cash for fancy underwear and bleed into it!
I hate pads and tampons
Period underwear makes a great backup
Instead, I tried out menstrual cups. Though I prefer them to all other menstrual products, they aren't perfect, either. They always leak. I’ve tried at least 4 to 5 different brands, and it’s always the same. This is where my Thinx underwear comes in super handy.
While I don’t find period underwear to be robust enough to use as a primary menstrual product, it is perfect to wear in conjunction with a cup or tampon in case of leaks. Sometimes, I even wear the underwear the day I either expect (or the day before I expect) my period to start. I don’t worry overnight that I’ll leak onto my sheets, and if it catches the occasional cough pee, that’s a bonus. (In fact, I have worn period underwear when I couldn’t stop coughing because I'm a practical sort.)
Whether period underwear works for you all the time — or you use it as a backup just in case — having at least 4 to 5 pairs on hand is totally worth the investment. And if you can use it when you have a bad cold (or allergies), all the better.
