Back in April, I made a bold change: I stopped using single-use sanitary pads. No, I didn’t switch to tampons. Instead, I went old-school and started using what your grandmother might have used: reusable cloth pads.
Why the change? Disposable pads are harmful to your health, the planet and your budget. Did you know the typical womanmay use up to 16,800 disposable tamponsover her lifetime?
That’s a massive quantity of products — and a huge amount of waste. And it’s not just garbage; it’s also money down the drain. Consider this: if a woman has periods for 40 years and buys an $8 pack of disposable pads every month, that totals $3,840 over her life.
All that cash could have gone into savings, paid towards student loans, or funded a memorable holiday! That’s what prompted me to explore cloth pads, and I’m so glad I did. I’m saving money, and I’m also doing a favor to my body — and the environment.
I know the idea of switching to reusable pads can seem daunting, so I’ll walk you through it. I’ll outline how much money I’ve saved, why cloth pads are healthier and greener, and share my personal experience using them.
Cloth Pads Cut Costs
Making the switch to reusable pads is great for your finances. I can vouch for that: in the five months I’ve been using them, I’ve already saved over $40 in pad purchases. The disposable packs I used to buy cost about $8, not including tax.
That kind of spending really adds up: over a year, I was spending at least $96 on disposable pads.
You can find reusable pads in many places, like Etsy and Amazon. I recommend looking at sellers such as The Little Flower, Mother Moon Pads and CozyFolk on Etsy.
I bought a complete cloth pad collection for $80 from The Little Flower: three light day pads, six regular day pads and two overnight pads. This set should serve me for anywhere between two and five years, depending on care.
If I keep them for just two years, I’ll save roughly $192 compared to disposables. If they last five years, that’s an impressive $480 saved. Pretty sweet, right?
Cloth Pads Are Healthier
Are you aware that disposable pads are composed of plastics, cotton, wood pulp and synthetic fibers?
And if you think “cotton is harmless,” consider that conventionally grown cotton is among the most chemically treated crops. According to the Rodale Institute, cotton farmers use 16 percent of the world’s pesticides. Even worse, the materials in many pads are bleached with chlorine dioxide, producing persistent, pollutive byproducts like dioxin that accumulate in the environment and our bodies for decades.
It doesn’t stop there: disposables often contain artificial scents and synthetic additives. Is that really something you want next to such a sensitive area?
I’d rather not. Those chemicals can trigger allergic reactions, disrupt hormones and cause reproductive issues. I opted out.
Cloth Pads Are Better for the Planet
Disposable pads are incredibly wasteful. The number you keep out of landfills will vary depending on your flow, but it still adds up.
Before I switched, I typically used one and a half packs per month. Each pack contained about 24 pads.
So, I was throwing away roughly 36 pads during a single cycle (not including the non-recyclable plastic wrappers). Even worse, the plastic in disposable pads takes centuries to break down. Hardly disposable, if you ask me.
It’s rough to realize that simply having a period means contributing to landfill mass. At my previous usage rate, I was responsible for about 432 pads a year. From my first period at 11 to now at 22, I’ve probably sent around 4,752 pads to a landfill. That’s a sobering thought.
In the five months since switching to cloth pads, I’ve prevented roughly 180 pads from ending up in a landfill. It feels good to reduce waste, however small the step — especially when the average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash daily.
How Cloth Pads Worked for Me
You might be wondering how they’re actually used. It’s simpler than it sounds: they function the same as disposable pads, except you wash and dry them. It’s more effort, and it’s not for everyone, but it’s well worth it.
First, buy a reputable pad set. Many sellers let you pick fabrics and patterns. I chose a variety of materials (cotton, minky, windpro fleece and PUL) and mostly went with floral prints.
The pads had KAM snaps, which made securing them effortless. Unlike disposables, you don’t have to stick them to your underwear or peel them off. Just snap them on and off.
They’re machine- and hand-washable, but since I don’t own a washing machine, I used my sink. I prewashed them, then let them dry before reuse.
I also don’t have a dryer, so I improvised a clothesline using a hanger and some safety pins.
I change my cloth pad every 2 to 3 hours. When I used disposables, I’d swap them every two hours, or sometimes every hour with a heavy flow. The cloth pads felt much more absorbent!
My set included a wetbag and a pad wrapper. The wetbag is where you keep used pads when you’re out, and the PUL wrapper protects clean pads in storage — similar to how disposable pads are wrapped in plastic for hygiene.
I only use the wetbag when I can’t wash right away. I’d carry the wetbag and pad wrapper in a large purse and take them with me to the restroom as needed. It might sound off-putting, but the wetbag’s interior is waterproof, so there’s no leakage.
At home, I rinse soiled pads under cold running water until the water runs clear (this helps prevent staining). Then I soak them in a bin of cold water until washing time. At night I wash them in the sink with an all-natural detergent and hang them to dry.
I repeated this routine throughout my period without any problems. It took a little adjustment, but with a solid pad set, they were very comfortable to wear.
Another relief was having these delivered to my door. Buying pads in-store can be awkward — I’ve gotten dirty looks and snickers simply for purchasing conventional products. It felt like a neon sign saying “She’s on her period!”
With my reusable pads, my period stayed private and personal. That was empowering.
Using reusable pads saves you money and benefits both your body and the environment. Yes, it takes extra effort, but it’s manageable and worthwhile.
Because the reality is, no one should have to spend extra over their lifetime just because they menstruate.
Aurora Benitez is a green living and sustainable lifestyle writer whose work has appeared on MindBodyGreen, Motivation Grid and various eco-conscious outlets. She typically writes about low-waste solutions and creative reuse to help protect the environment.
