Let’s be honest with each other…raise your hand if you’ve ever flushed a menstrual product down the toilet! If you raised your hand, you are, undoubtedly, not alone. An action which has long been second nature to many people with periods, is now being challenged by large-scale organisations, such as City to Sea.

Last month, City to Sea, an environmental organisation, announced their new partnership with Natracare in order to advance their Plastic-Free Period Campaign. I spoke to Lucy Tissington, Partnerships Coordinator of City to Sea, to discuss their campaign and their new collaboration.

For those unfamiliar, can you tell me a little bit about City to Sea?

Lucy: City to Sea is a non-profit organisation, campaigning to reduce plastic pollution at source. We run lots of award-winning campaigns, such as our refill campaign which concerns refilling reusable bottles on the go. We’ve now expanded that campaign to include lunchboxes and choosing plastic-free alternatives in the supermarkets.

We also run lots of different ad-hoc campaigns which we feel are relevant at the time. City to Sea also sends out a monthly newsletter to our followers entitled the ‘Plastic-Free Journal’ which highlights all of our events and campaigns.

We also run our Plastic-Free Period campaign which seeks to educate people as to what is in our period products.

Let’s talk about the Plastic-Free Period Campaign, how did this come about?

Lucy: We became aware of people’s behaviour regarding flushing their products down the toilet and a lack of education when it comes to the damage that this causes. Not many people know what we should really do with our period products – but the toilet is not a bin.

From this, we then delved into what materials are in our products and found that people are also unaware of what we are putting into our bodies.

Tell me more about the problem surrounding plastic in period products...

Lucy: Due to the frequency of flushing products down the toilet, menstrual products are actually one of the 5th most common items found on our European beaches – more common than single-use coffee cups, cutlery or straws. In fact, an estimated 1.5 billion to 2 billion menstrual items are flushed down Britain’s toilets each year.

Plastic-free is also better for your health. Conventional products contain plastics and petroleum-derived polymer gels. To illustrate the severity of this, in one conventional pack of disposable menstrual pads, there’s 5 carrier bags-worth of plastic! These components are not breathable which can create sweaty and irritated environments in the intimate area.

There is also an economic impact - big-brand disposable period products cost us around £4,800 over our menstruating lifetime and cost the earth. Menstruators can save up to 94% of what they would have spent on disposable products over a lifetime, by switching to reusables!

One of the biggest issues in this area seems to be a lack of awareness, why do you think this is?

Lucy: This all relates to education. Many people who opt for big-brand products will find that there is not much educational information on the packaging relating to what is actually in the products. It is also important for people to understand the alternatives that are out there and break the stigma surrounding reusable products.

One of the main ways to increase awareness is to encourage supermarkets to stock a wide range of alternative menstrual products.

What has City to Sea been doing to advance this campaign?

Lucy: Alongside our Plastic-Free Periods Campaign, we have also launched our Rethink Periods Campaign. This is part of an accredited programme whereby we go into schools to educate students on many period-related issues. We have been able to provide education on plastic-free alternative products whilst breaking down the stigma surrounding period-talk.

Additionally, we have a plastic-free shop on our website which features a section dedicated to menstrual products. This helps people who are attempting to reduce their use of plastics by promoting lots of reliable resources and products all in one place.

City to Sea have recently announced their partnership with Natracare to advance this campaign further – can you tell me more about this?

Lucy: Natracare is the first company in the world to provide plastic-free, certified organic cotton and chlorine-free tampons, pads and panty liners.

As part of Natracare’s 1% for the Planet commitment, for every pack of Natracare’s plastic-free applicator tampons purchased in the UK, 10% of the price goes to City to Sea. This revenue will help City to Sea to maintain and progress this campaign.

We hope that our partnership with Natracare will help us to educate the nation on the severity of plastic in menstrual products, and push legislation on this issue to empower people to choose an environmenstrual alternative.

What steps can we be taking, in our day-to-day lives, to help with this issue?

Lucy: Well, we need to be thinking about how we can change our behaviour at source. If we increase our awareness and education as to what is really in our products, then we can look forward and think about how to change in a way that is right for you. There are lots of different options out there which people can consider.

Also, people can assist the campaign by discussing the issue with family members and friends – it is all about spreading awareness.

Do you have any advice for those who might be apprehensive to switch to more sustainable products?

Lucy: Switching to organic products or reusables is a really empowering way to reduce your plastic-waste. If people still want to use disposable products then organic products are far better for our bodies as well as for the environment. Of course, organic products still should not be flushed down the loo!

Where can our readers buy Natracare’s products?

Lucy: Natracare’s products can be ordered directly from their website, or they can be found on our plastic-free shop on City to Sea’s website. Also, Natracare is stocked in some of the mainstream supermarkets, such as Waitrose.

You can find out more about City to Sea or Natracare on their websites or Instagram pages: @citytosea_ and @natracare.

If you would like to get involved with the Plastic-Free Period Campaign, you can search for City to Sea’s #PlasticFreePeriods, #RiseoftheReusables, #Detoxmyperiod or #RethinkPeriods. 

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Written by Chelsea Peel