Well, maybe not every day, but certainly every month. That’s right ladies and gents, we’re talking about the environmental impact of feminine hygiene products: tampons, pads, the whole deal.

Kotex Ad 1941

Now before I get into this topic I want to address the readers who might be cringing here. While acknowledging that public discussion of menstruation is a bit on the taboo side socially, environmentally it does have an impact. As such it needs to be discussed openly. For something that happens to half of the human population, the whole process and associated products are treated with a bizarre amount of shame and secrecy. Fact is, it’s a big issue. It’s expensive economically, can have serious health effects and produces a lot of waste. When it comes to environmental issues, pretending like it doesn’t happen or doesn’t have an environmental effect is a problem in and of itself.

So girls, and guys who know girls, this is important. No snickering. Pay attention. Thank you.

Commercial tampons were introduced to the public in the US around the 1930’s. Tampax was the first brand to be sold with an applicator in 1936. The basic design and concept has more or less stayed the same ever since. The main selling points of the products revolved mainly around comfort, ease of movement and athleticism, discretion, coverage and absorbency. For a brief period in the early nineties, the brand Tampax advertised their product as “environmentally friendly” urging women to “think green” by buying the brand with a biodegradable applicator.

But how “green” are these products, really?

Environmentally, there are two main issues at stake: the impact of production, and the impact disposal. A typical woman can use anywhere between 8,000 to 17,000 tampons in her lifetime. This depends on individual usage of course. I hate to sound cliche here, but every woman is different, and the numbers available are all over the map. Think about it though, a handful of products a month, 12 months a year, for 30 to 40 years, multiplied by the female half of the population… It really does add up. According to the book Flow: The Cultural History of Menstruation, the average woman throws away up to 300 pounds of feminine hygiene related products in a lifetime. In the grand scheme of things this makes up only about 0.5 percent of personal landfill waste. But even so, when you see that there are alternative options available, it becomes difficult to rationalize. In the United States alone, an estimated 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are disposed of annually. Each of those tampons and pads has an environmental impact of the waste of not only the product itself, but the packaging, plastic or cardboard applicators, as well as the less visible costs of transportation and production.

Impact flow chart from the RIT assessment

They found that the main environmental impact of the products was in fact caused by the processing of raw materials, particularly LDPE (low density polyethelene) – or the plastics used in the backing of pads and tampon applicators, and cellulose production. As production of these plastics requires a lot of energy and creates long lasting waste, the main impact from the life cycle of these products is fossil fuel use, though the waste produced is significant in its own right. In a choice between pads and tampons, pads have more of an environmental impact due to their plastic components. It’s essentially the feminine hygiene version of “paper or plastic?”

That isn’t to say that tampons don’t also have a significant environmental impact. The cotton fiber used in the production of tampons contributes 80% of their total impact. The processing is resource intensive as the farming of cotton requires large amounts of water, pesticides and fertilizer. And while they do not last indefinitely, like the plastic liners used in pads, tampons still take about six months to biodegrade according to Liz Sutton of the Women’s Environmental Network. Really, it’s the plastic applicators that are a problem. In 2009, The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup project collected 20,000 tampon applicators out of 4 million total pieces of reclaimed plastic waste. It can take applicators 25 years to break down in the ocean. Once they are broken down, they are often ingested by marine life causing digestion blockage and death. I’m going to say this once: don’t flush the plastic applicators. It even says right there in the directions not to flush the plastic applicators. In fact, if it’s an option – go ahead and throw the whole thing away rather than flushing. The cotton is often the cause of plumbing problems at home (around 70%) and at the treatment plant where they are removed as solid waste and sent to landfills anyway.

photo source CC BY 2.0

Some women are wary of tampons in general as all brands come tagged with warnings about TSS, or toxic shock syndrome, a rare but serious health condition which can occur in women who use super-absorbent or synthetic tampons. There are other health precautions as well. As I discussed in the food as an environmental issue post, health is an environmental issue, so these issues shouldn’t be overlooked. The chlorine bleaching process that is used to make these products look “cleaner” or more sanitary produces dioxin, the toxin of Agent Orange and Love Canal fame, which builds up in the fat cells of our bodies over time. Products that contain rayon also carry trace amounts of dioxin. While the FDA and Health Canada both state that the health risk is negligible, Dr. Philip Tierno of New York University Medical Center says that while trace quantities of dioxin found in tampons aren’t in and of themselves the issue, it’s the overall exposure and build up that the use of chlorine-bleached and rayon based tampons adds to that’s the problem. To avoid dioxin related health risks associated with tampons, switch to a brand that is non chlorine-bleached, rayon-free, and 100% organic cotton, thus avoiding the insecticides, pesticides and herbicides that are used in the growing of non-organic cotton crops.

While organic cotton tampons may solve the issue of pesticides and bleach, they still inevitably cause waste.

Alternative Options

Tampax Ad 1945

If you’re really that convinced that you can’t go through life without tampons but still want to green your routine, cut back on a significant amount of trash by not using plastic applicators. For that matter, why not skip applicators all together? You can also go organic as there are a number of options available to you. In particular, check out 7th Generation, and Natracare.

While it is true that tampons have less of an environmental impact than pads, there are other options. The green favorite being, of course, the menstrual cup. They provide the convenience of tampons without the waste, and a lot of women think they’re pretty much the best option available today. You insert them like a tampon, empty out as needed, and clean with soapy water. They are reusable, contain no dioxin, no rayon, and are easy to maintain. You can buy versions made out of natural latex or silicone. They are not only the most eco-friendly but also the most affordable of all options on the market. Check out the Keeper, the Moon Cup, or the Diva Cup.

For those who prefer external-use products, there are greener options for you too. Reusable cloth pads, such as Luna Pads, and Glad Rags, are machine-washable fabric maxi pads. They require some energy and water to clean, obviously, but they do save on overall resource use, avoid plastic production, and create minimal waste.

I know that changing habits like these is particularly difficult. Marketing studies show that often women will buy the brand of tampons or pads their mothers used and rarely diversify. But to those of us who know that there are more important elements to our consumer choices than brand loyalty, it’s worth it to give the alternatives a try.

Vintage ads from Duke University Library Ad Access.

Guest Guru: Rachel Tamigniaux from The Chic Ecologist -- eco chic sustainable green living

Sleep Does Wonders for Your Complexion

Ever wonder why your skin looks healthy and rosy when you wake up?  When you sleep, your body has the chance to focus all it’s energy on healing and repairing, and that includes your skin. 

There’s a reason it’s called beauty sleep.  Not sleeping enough is a sure fire way to wake up looking like you’re ready for Halloween.  But if you can’t catch up on your zzz’s, make sure you have a few tricks up your sleeve.

The most fast-acting cheapest trick is to use a bit of rose water on a cotton ball, and dab it on your eyes.  This is an instant pick me up, smells great, and costs next to nothing! Rose water even works great as a toner, acting as an antibacterial cleaner minus alcohol.

Oxygen Facials

All living things need oxygen, and our skin is no exception. The trick is finding the right way to harness a natural free element that’s already around you.

There are two ways to deliver oxygen to your face. The first is an oxygen facial.  For about $500 a treatment, you can get oxygen blasted directly at your face. This is a favorite of Madonna, who loves it so much that she dropped $7,000 to have her own unit at home. Oxygen calms inflammation, treats acne, kills bacteria, drives antioxidants and vitamins into the skin, and makes your skin younger looking by providing oxygen to the skin cells. ¹

The second way revolves around the hype of beauty products that claim to tote O2 in their product. Oxygen is a gas. There is no way to put that into a cream, keep it there, and then have it released when it hits your skin. Even if creams did provide some extra oxygen to the skin, the effects would last only minutes at best.

But cost conscious beauty whizzes have wisened up to the smart cost-effective way to get a similar treatment for far less.  The buzz has already been hovering around the idea of using high quality air purifiers, such as Blueair Air Purifiers, Austin Air Air Filters, and IQAir Air Cleaners.

The air purifiers filter the air and create an optimal clean air environment rich with pure O2.  For added benefit, regardless of beauty objectives, it's advised to have one in your room while you sleep.  With the average person sleeping for about 6 hours a night, you're guaranteed a long fresh O2 session by the time you wake up. Oxygen’s also become the must have for the dressing room of any beauty maven, regardless of whether you’re a natural beauty or a glamazon. 

Limit Your Sun-Exposure

Everyone knows that excessive sun exposure is one of the worst things you can do for your skin, but we all still covet that Hollywood orange (I mean, “golden”) glow. Tanning beds are no better. Neither are chemically saturated self tanning lotions. But turmeric, a dark yellow spice native to India, has been used for centuries by Indian women to provide a natural glow.

Mix half a teaspoon of turmeric with whole milk to get a paste, and leave it on a facial mask for five minutes.  After you wash it away, you’ll notice a soft golden glow without the use of chemicals or plastics – and you’ll have done something great for your skin. 

Aside from making skin soft and supple, turmeric has immense healing properties including getting rid of acne and discoloration. This mustard colored spice can also be mixed in larger amounts and used anywhere on your body to reveal your inner golden goddess.  Best of all, you only need to travel as far as your local grocer to pick it up. 

But if you want it at pennies on the dollar, and want to support local mom and pop stores, skip large scale commercial grocers and pay a visit to any Middle Eastern or South Asian supermarket. While you're there, pick up a bottle of rose water too, and save yourself the shipping cost plus the wasted paper and energy of mailing.

Keeping Your Mind Healthy  

Creating more stress in your life is a fantastic way to invite all kinds of diseases to attack the body. Equally as bad, stress is reflected on your face the minute you experience it. 

 When you're chronically stressed, the adrenal glands are forced to work overtime and eventually exhaust themselves, inhibiting the immune system and triggering a number of health complications. 

One of the best stress fighters is exercise – but there’s one problem with a routine trip to the gym.  The constant noise of bad gym music and weight stacks falling abruptly is hardly a recipe for de-stressing. Point being, the gym offers an opportunity to train the body, but not the mind.

A great alternative is yoga. These simple stretching exercises have been used by civilizations for over thousands of years and far surpass the manic hustle and bustle of corporate health clubs.

A switch to yoga effectively trains both mind and body and keeps you away from wasting money on health clubs, which not only deplete resources but are proven breeding grounds for illness.

Contributor: Air Purifier information sourced from http://www.air-purifier-home.com/

Twitter @AirPurifierHome

This video was produced by Green Gorilla Media for Green Festival TV. Green Festival is the nation's premier sustainability event, celebrating what's working in our communities - for people, business and the environment.

	What's most profound is that these represent parts of a greater whole. They represent a shift in power from centralized institutions and organizations to the People they represent. It is the evolution of democracy by way of technology, and we are all better for it. For most of us, social media has changed our lives in some meaningful way. Collectively it is changing the world for good. Given the pace of innovation and adoption, change has become a constant. Every so often we find the need to stop and reflect on its most recent and noteworthy developments, hence the following list. Please note this is not a top-10 list, nor are these listed in any particular order. It's also incomplete. So we ask that you add to this conversation in the comments. If you'd like to Retweet this post or take the conversation to Twitter or FriendFeed, please use the hashtag #10Ways.
	1. Take Social Actions: The nonprofit organization Social Actions aggregates "opportunities to make a difference from over 50 online platforms" through its unique API. It recently held the Change the Web Challenge contest in order to inspire the most innovative applications for that API. The Social Actions Interactive Map won the $5,000 first prize. The result is a virtual tour of the world through the lens of social action. "People are volunteering, donating, signing petitions, making loans and doing other social actions as we speak -- all over the world. To capture the context of the where, this project uses sophisticated techniques to extract location information from full text paragraphs." You can also join the Social Actions Community, which is powered by Ning...which now boasts more than one million individual social networks.
	2. Twitter with a Purpose: This list could be exclusive to Twitter. The micro-blogging sensation was featured on our first two lists (a three-tweet), and it's certain to be a fixture. From Tweetsgiving, the virtual Thanksgiving feast, to the Twestival, which organized 202 off-line events around the world to benefit charity: water, it's become the de facto tool for organizing and taking action. Tweet Congress won the SXSW activism award, and celebrity Tweeps Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Rose Tweeted their two million followers about ending malaria. Max Gladwell recently initiated the #EcoMonday follow meme as a way to connect and organize the Green Twittersphere.
	3. Visit White House 2.0: Inside of its first 100 days, the Obama administration has managed to set the historic benchmark for government transparency and accountability. The President's virtual town hall meeting used WhiteHouse.gov to crowdsource questions from his 300 million constituents, complete with voting to determine the ones he'd have to answer. All told, 97,937 people submitted 103,978 questions and cast 1,782,650 votes. The White House continues to raise the bar with its official Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter channels. In so doing President Obama is not just setting the standard for state and local government in the U.S. He's establishing the world standard. The Obama administration is spreading democracy not by force but through example. Because you don't have to be an American citizen to be a friend or follower of White House 2.0.
	4. Claim your Zumbox: What happens when all mail can be sent and delivered online to any street address in a paperless form? That's the big question for Zumbox, which has created an online mail system with a digital mailbox for every U.S. street address. And while the answer to that question remains to be seen, it promises to be as liberating as it is disruptive. A key quality for Zumbox is that it's closed system much like that of Facebook, only instead of true identity it's true address. This will enable people to better connect with their communities including their neighbors, local businesses, and the mayor's office. The primary agent of change, though, might not be that this uses street addresses but that it enables direct and potentially viral feedback, which is a virtue that e-mail and the USPS do not offer. The first methods are to request exclusive paperless delivery and to block a sender, but others are certain to evolve such as real-time commenting and ways to share mail with friends, family, and colleagues. Welcome to Mail 2.0. (Disclosure: Zumbox is a client of Rob Reed, the founder of Max Gladwell.)
	5. Host a Social Media Event: This is the year of the social media event. No meaningful gathering of people is complete without an interactive online audience, especially when it's so easy and cost effective to pull off. Essential tools include a broadband connection, laptop, video camera, projector, and screen. Add people and a purpose, such as entrepreneurship. Promote it through social media channels, and you have a social media event. A recent example in the green world is the Evolution of Green, which was hosted by Creative Citizen, a green wiki community. It celebrated the launch of a new Web property, EcoMatters, while also establishing a new Twitter tag. By posing the question, "How can we go from green hype to green habit?" and including the #GreenQ hashtag, it sparked a conversation between attendees and the Twittersphere in real time. Thus was born a new mechanism for getting answers to green questions via Twitter.
	6. Travel the World: More than anyone else, Tim O'Reilly knows the potential for social media to change the world. In his opening keynote at this year's Web 2.0 Expo, he called for a new ethic in which we do more with less and create more value than we capture. This provided the context for SalaamGarage founder Amanda Koster, whose presentation followed O'Reilly's. The idea is that social media has enabled each of us to have an audience. Whether through Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, or a personal blog, each of us can have influence and reach. What's more, it can be used for good. SalaamGarage coordinates trips for citizen journalists (that means you) to places like India and Vietnam in conjunction with non-government organizations like Seattle-based Peace Trees. The destination is the story, as these humanitarian journalists report on the people they meet and discoveries they make. Their words, images, and video are posted to the social web to gain exposure and because these stories just need to be told.
	7. Build It on Drupal: You may not have noticed, but the open-source Drupal content management system (CMS) has quickly become the dominant player on the social web. While we still prefer WordPress as a strict blogging application, Drupal has emerged as the go-to platform for building scalable, community-driven Web sites. It powers Recovery.gov, a key part of President Obama's commitment to transparency and accountability. PopRule uses it as a social news platform for politics. And Drupal will soon become the platform for Causecast, a site where "media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose." This is especially significant because Causecast CEO Ryan Scott is transitioning the site off of Ruby on Rails because Drupal has proved more efficient, user friendly, and cost effective. (Disclosure: Max Gladwell founder Rob Reed is co-founder of PopRule.)
	8. Green Your iPhone: Looking for an organic diner within biking distance that has a three-star green rating? There's a app for that. It's called 3rd Whale, and you can download it for free. (Except that the star rating is actually a whale rating.) Complete with Facebook Connect, this iPhone app locates green products and businesses in 30 major North American cities. It uses the iPhone's dial function to select a category (food), sub-category (restaurants), and distance (walking, biking, or driving). In Santa Monica, this might give you Swingers diner for its selection of veggie and vegan fare. You could then get directions from your current location using the iPhone's built-in Google map, rate your experience on the three-whale scale, and write up a quick review. 3rd Whale recently released a new feature that integrates green-living tips, which can show how much energy or waste you'll save by taking a given action.
	9. Unite the World Through Video: Matt's dancing around the world video inspired many to tears. Today, more than 20 million people have viewed his YouTube masterpiece, where he performs a kooky dance with the citizens of planet earth. The most recent example of this approach is Playing for Change, which connects the world through song. The project started in Santa Monica with a street performance of the classic Stand By Me and expanded to New Orleans, New Mexico, France, Brazil, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa, Spain, and The Netherlands. The project was superbly executed via social media, complete with a YouTube channel, MySpace, Facebook, and Blog. It's received tremendous mainstream media exposure and also benefits a foundation of the same name.
	10. Rate a Company: The conversation about corporate social responsibility (CSR) takes place across the social web on blogs, Twitter, and YouTube, but a central hub for this information and opinion is still to be determined. SocialYell seeks to address this by building an online community around the CSR conversation, where users can submit reviews of companies together with nonprofit organizations and even public figures like Michelle Obama. The major topics are the Environment, Health, Social Equity, Consumer Advocacy, and Charity. The reviews are voted and commented on by the community in a Reddit-like fashion with both up (Yell) and down (shhh) voting. The site is relatively new and still gaining traction, but there's no question that a resource like this is needed to shine a bright light on CSR and and other related issues.

11. Publish a collective, simultaneous blog post on a universal topic: As Nigel Tufnel might say, this list goes to eleven. Let the #10Ways conversation begin...

Final note: This is Max Gladwell's third list of "10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media." The first was posted a year ago today on Sustainablog.org, and the sequel followed five months later. If a single headline can capture the Max Gladwell raison d'etre, this is it.

Editor's note: This is first guest post from Max Gladwell.