Menstrual products tell the story of the modern world - from capitalism and patriarchy to cultural and environmental pollution. 

Menstrual products are such a big secret! Periods concern all of us and the environment. Billions of pads and tampons end up in the environment each year. Some of which are made almost entirely of plastic! Big companies continue to profit off our silence.

The good news is : we have solutions - that are both eco-friendly and cheap! But hardly anybody is using them. Chances are, you haven't even heard of some. So why is the solution to such a big problem still so unknown?

Menstrual products are more than just girly things we don't talk about. Placing them at the centre actually reveals a lot about the modern world. We actually are not surprise about it how women dealt with their ‘monthly visitor’ through history. What we do know is that no society has ever really viewed menstruation very positively. Most women used what was locally available to them like old cloth, or even dried plants and leaves and sometimes even mud. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that must have been.

Thanks to the shame and advertising, countless tons of sanitary products are now thrown away each year leaking chemicals and microplastic into the air, land and sea. So let's look at our options based on budget, accessibility and their effect on the environment.

• First is the famous sanitary pad! It's the most easily accessible around the world and the most difficult to get rid of. The pad can be up to 90% plastic from the permeable surface to the core's superabsorbent polymers that swell with the blood. They're easy to use and throw away. But with inadequate waste disposal systems surround the world, pads most likely end up in the great outdoors. 
• Next up is a tampon. Those with applicators have an extra layer of largely single-use plastic. But it's not just the applicator. The tampon itself is made of several layers of plastic. And often the string is made of plastic as well. They do contain less plastic than pads overall. But recycling them or disposing them is really difficult. 
• Period pants have recently become more popular. They have two layers :  an external, resistant one of plastic or natural fibre to prevent leaks and a superabsorbent fabric one close to the skin. They can be worn for upto 2 years but as with any other reusable, washing them takes time and effort. 
• The reusable is the menstrual cup. It can take a lot of getting used to and access to running water is absolutely essential for convenience and hygiene. But interest is growing.

Just even destigmatizing menstruation and making it normal, just having it be a regular part of conversation, is the different way of being. I think that can be radical in its own way. What we need now is les shame and more awareness and access to choices that are better on the pocket and the environment.