Little did Brighton, UK, mum Su Hardy know that the company she had founded in 2002 would go on to have such an impact on our world – and the lives of millions of women. Su had just invented the Mooncup, the world’s first silicone menstrual cup, replacing disposable tampons and pads.
Fast forward 20 years, and Mooncup has moved from ‘hippy alternative’ to on-trend period product. To track the positive environmental impact of their product, the Mooncup team set up a calculator on their website counting the number of disposable tampons & pads averted from the waste stream thanks to Mooncup users. As if on cue to mark Mooncup’s 20th anniversary, the waste tracker just hit 3 billion – equalling 36,000 tonnes of period waste, a weight equivalent to that of 180 blue whales.
With April 22nd being Earth Day, this is a great reminder that there are small actions we can take in our everyday lives that impact the environment on a larger scale. Climate Change can seem like an overwhelming topic, but with increased awareness about the products we use on a regular basis, change is possible with us, while we continue holding large corporations and polluters accountable for the damage they inflict on the planet.
Now considered a leading British menstrual cup brand, Mooncup has revealed some weighty statistics about period plastic waste saved from landfill and our oceans by Mooncup users.
Each one of us uses 11,000 disposable period products in a menstruating lifetime. In the UK alone, tampons, pads and panty liners are responsible for more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. It’s estimated that single use period pads, which are known to contain up to 90% plastic, take hundreds of years to decompose. Meanwhile, regardless of your flow, you only need one reusable Mooncup menstrual cup which lasts for years and years.
More than two million have made the switch to the Mooncup, resulting in over 3 billion single use period products being saved from ending up on our beaches, oceans and landfill. That equates to a whopping 36 million kilograms of period waste. And it’s enough waste to fill 44 Olympic size swimming pools, or 1.8 million household waste bins.
Not only is our planet better off but ditching disposable tampons and pads has also saved Mooncup users over £435 million over the past 20 years – that’s 136 million periods taken care of.
People are still unaware that there is plastic inside tampons and pads
A recent survey by the environmental non-profit City to Sea, where 750 people from the UK with periods were asked about the products they use and how this relates to plastic pollution, revealed that awareness about period plastic is still relatively low: 64% of people polled were still unaware that disposable tampons and pads contain a significant amount of plastic within the products themselves.
Another 28% of respondents said that they flushed tampons down the loo, while 9% said they flushed period pads or liners too. It’s known that if flushed down the loo, tampons and pads block sewers. Clearing blockages cost the UK wastewater companies around £90 million every year.
Kath Clements, Mooncup Ltd. Director, comments:
“Putting an end to the menstrual product waste found on our beaches, has been at the heart of what Mooncup stands for since we started in 2002. And as a Brighton based business manufacturing in the UK, protecting our environment, coastlines and seas was never going to be forgotten!
We’re so proud of Mooncup users worldwide in helping us to reach this milestone: 3 billion fewer items in our environment. Which also means 3 billion fewer products that can be mistaken for food and ingested by our sea birds and mammals. One small change can send out some seriously positive ripples… Just imagine what we can achieve together in the next 20 years!”
Ella Daish, Environmental Activist, comments:
“This fantastic news is the perfect example of the difference we can make by switching to reusable period products and shows how powerful an impact our collective action has when multiplied. It makes me optimistic for the future and the positive change we can effect in the next 20 years.”
Caroline Lucas, Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion, comments:
“Mooncup are a brilliant Brighton company and it’s wonderful to see them reach this milestone. When plastic pollution does such damage to our rivers and sea waters, it’s vital to cut waste and Mooncup are making a big contribution to achieving that.”
Jo Morley, Head of Campaigns at City to Sea, comments:
“2 million people have made an awesome decision to switch their plastic filled single-use disposable period product for a reusable Mooncup. Each year 200,000 tons of menstrual waste are landfilled and flushed plastic filled period products are one of the big contributors to plastic pollution in our rivers and oceans. And while the onus has to be on manufacturers, this announcement shows the impact that we can all have by making different choices for our bodies and the planet.”
There is a role each of us can play to protect our environment, and make more eco-conscious decisions about our bodies. We also fully recognize that silicone menstrual cups may not be accessible to everyone, and in the interest of wanting to ensure period equity for all, we don’t discount the importance of access to disposable tampons and pads for many across the world. For those who are interested in learning more about reusable menstrual cups, head to mooncup.co.uk to learn more.
