The average woman in the U.S. uses around 16,000 tampons during her menstruating years. That equals a lot of waste. In 1988, a field study found that 6.5 billion tampons and 13.5 billion sanitary pads and their packaging end up in America’s waste stream every year. Disposable pads and tampons are wasteful, and on top of that they’re not even necessary. There are reusable alternatives to both pads and tampons. Some of these products seems a bit daunting at first glance, but with a little practice they’re as easy to use a conventional menstrual products. Gentlemen, this could be more information than you require, so you may want to avert your eyes.

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