In honour of Earth Day, research from Yoppie, the pioneers of personalised, organic period care delivered through your letterbox, has revealed how opting for organic products on a subscription basis can help reduce plastic usage, support sustainable production and prevent products going to waste due to overbuying.

Yoppie’s research found that when it comes to purchasing health, beauty and hygiene products, 38% of women said that low cost was the most important factor.

This was the primary concern ahead of the quality of the product (20%), the ingredients it contains (10%), the environmental footprint (10%) and even the health benefits (9%).

However, Yoppie’s research also shows how opting for the cheapest and often non-organic product can not only be bad for your body, it can also be bad for the environment.

Plastic use during our periods

According to Yoppie, the average pack of non-organic sanitary pads contains 2.4g of plastic per pad and a further 2.5g within the packaging itself. That’s the equivalent of five plastic bags for every pack of sanitary pads.

With the average woman using around 30 pads per cycle, that’s 72g of plastic based on the pads alone. Over their lifetime, a woman will have approximately 456 period cycles and in one year alone will generate 864g of plastic waste, climbing to a huge 32.8kgs during a lifetime of use.

Organic cotton in period care

But organic period care doesn’t just reduce plastic waste, it also benefits the environment due to the use of responsibly grown organic cotton.

Organic cotton is produced and certified to organic agricultural standards, meaning its production sustains soil health, ecosystems and people via natural processes and without the input of artificial practices or substances.

Organic cotton is free from treatment with pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and GMOs. All of which can be harmful to wildlife, the wider eco-systems, the people producing it and inevitably, us as consumers.

What’s more, it requires less water to grow, 88% less in fact, which helps reduce soil erosion and surface and groundwater use.

It also has a wider benefit to farmers on top of protecting their health. As a rotation crop, it allows them to grow more than one crop which helps supplement their food production and income potential while encouraging crop diversity.

So when you opt for organic period care using responsibly sourced cotton, you’re not just reducing your plastic waste, you’re investing in water conservation, cleaner air, better soil, and the livelihoods of the farmers producing it.

Personalising your period care to reduce consumption

It’s not just the type of period care you use that can help reduce your environmental footprint, but also how you use it. Many of us are guilty of overbuying when it comes to a whole host of things and this is no different when we’re purchasing our period care.

But doing so can see products that are already bad for the planet go to waste without even fulfilling their intended purpose. By personalising your period care (or any other beauty or hygiene regime for that matter) via a subscription service, you can ensure you only get what you need, when you need it and nothing more. Further reducing the impact you have.

Founder of Yoppie, Daniella Peri, commented:

“It’s clear that cost is the driving factor for many women when purchasing both beauty and hygiene products and this is particularly understandable at present with many struggling financially due to the pandemic.

It’s also clear that the quality of our products, what goes into them and how they impact the planet are also a big concern for the majority of women.

Unfortunately, opting for the cheapest product often means we aren’t picking the one that is the best for our bodies or the planet, but by making some very small changes to our beauty and hygiene regimes, we could make a real difference.

Organic products can make a considerable difference to the planet both in terms of reducing our plastic waste, and helping promote ethically sourced materials such as organic cotton.

Not only does it help the environment, but it’s also good for our bodies which is another positive consequence and by opting for a subscription service, you won’t overspend on stock pilling products that will inevitably go to waste. So it could save you money in the long run as well.”