The KORA ladies have asked us to go into a little more detail about what the list of ingredients on the back of conventional tampon packs actually means?
So, to follow on from our previous blog posts here we go!
The choice to stock our refigerators with organic food and lather our bodies and faces with organic skincare may have become second nature – but how often do we take the time to read the list of ‘ingredients’ on our box of tampons?
Why should you care?
Almost every tampon sold in Australia (and the world for that matter) can be commonly made from: rayon/viscose, polypropylene, polyester and conventional cotton – and to that list you can add perfume and bleach and if the string of your tampon is coloured then you can also add dye. This list translates to: wood pulp, bleach, plastic, chemicals and toxic pesticides.
Rayon is used to make clothes, curtains and that wadding inside of zippo lighters.
Rayon usually makes up the ‘body’ of the tampon, it is a cheap, highly absorbant semi-synthetic fibre made from cellulose (wood pulp). Rayon is the main ingredient found in conventional feminine hygiene products. When exposed to moisture it is more likely to shed fibres compared to organic cotton which has stronger interwoven fibres that won’t shed fibres in the body in the same way.
Polypropelyne is used to make packaging, carpet and Australian banknotes.
Polyester is used to make clothing, tents, sleeping bags and sails for boats.
Polypropelyne and polyester are plastics and are often used to wrap the rayon body of the tampon to give it that ‘silky’ feel. It is used as the outer wrap to help reduce fibre loss from rayon, however some rayon fibres can still be lost in the inertion and removal process.
25% of the world’s pesticides are sprayed onto conventional cotton; it is commonly known as the ‘world’s dirtiest crop’.
Conventional cotton is commonly used in the body of the non-organic tampons. We may think we’re making the right choice by choosing the ‘natural’ cotton option but even if the cotton is thouroughly washed a significant amount of chemical residues can still remain. The pesticides and chemicals used in the production of convential cotton-based feminne hygiene products can be avoided by choosing certified organic cotton.
Unless the cotton (or any product) is certified organic it is not guaranteed to be chemical free.
Everyday we make choices about what we put in and on our bodies. Over our lifetime we may use 12,000 tampons – that’s 12,000 opportunites to make healthy choices, starting now.
Made from 100% certfied organic cotton (and nothing else!) T.O.M are the first Australian Certified Organic (ACO) accredited organic cotton tampons – it’s the chemicals, bleaches and synthetics that are left out of T.O.M that give you peace of mind every Time Of Month.
We’d love to hear why you choose non-toxic organic products – info@tomorganic.com.au
Until next ‘Time Of Month’
xx
T.O.M. Organic delivers straight to your door for your convenience
http://www.tomorganic.com.au/shop-online
T.O.M proudly supports the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. For more information or to make a donation please visit http://www.accf.org.au/
For more on T.O.M. and your health at KORA see http://www.koraorganics.com/blog/live-in-my-skin/all-things-organic/organic-certification/it%E2%80%99s-what%E2%80%99s-on-the-inside-that-counts-at-that-%E2%80%98time-of-month%E2%80%99/
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