Over her lifetime, the average woman in the U.S. will use more than 5,000 tampons. That’s a lot of cotton, and here are reasons why you want to use organic tampons instead of conventional brands.
Manufacturers of conventional tampons use non-organic cotton, one of the most chemically intensive crops in the world. In the U.S., 25 % of all pesticides are sprayed on cotton fields, and the EPA has declared seven of the top 15 of these chemicals to be possible carcinogens.
Another fiber commonly used by conventional tampon makers is viscose rayon, a cellulose fiber obtained from wood pulp. Rayon contributes to the risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) by creating ideal conditions for a bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus.
Rayon is also bleached with chlorine, which creates dioxins, some of the most toxic substances known. The FDA has categorized the odds of dioxins in conventional tampons as “quite high.” Dioxins can cause toxic effects at levels hundreds of thousands of times lower than most other chemical compounds. While most conventional tampon makers have switched to a bleaching process that lowers the amount of dioxin created, it doesn’t eliminate the contaminant completely.
Other ingredients in conventional tampons can include absorbency enhancers like the surfactant polysorbate-20, synthetic deodorants, and artificial fragrances. Women’s health advocates recommend using 100% additive-free organic cotton tampons instead.
Print
Email
Share This
del.icio.us
digg
reddit
facebook
newsvine
