The white, sterile looking classic tampon is made to give the impression that it is the safest period solution out there. That's what you would assume if you were judging by the cover. But as you probably know by now, big corporations are experts at marketing, and often their profits first at the expense of both your health and the environment.
Because tampons are officially categorized as "medical devices", manufacturers are under no obligation to list the ingredients of their product.
And while they do undergo regulations, many of the results of their tests are not made known to the public. So we can only guess what we are putting in our bodies! Without that knowledge, we have very little control and very little choice!
What we do know is that tampons are mostly made of cotton and rayon. Stuffing a synthetic fabric inside your vaginal canal should set off your internal alarm bells. Even cotton, which is often innocently marketed with a fluffy flower symbol, is risky. Cotton is considered the world's dirtiest crop due to its heavy use of pesticides. Those pesticides remain on the cotton used in tampon manufacturing, and recent studies show tampons have a high level of pesticide residue.
And we have not even mentioned the fragrances, bleaches, and other unknown chemicals that all collide to create a dangerous chemical cocktail lurking in that little white tampon.
So are tampons the safest period protection?
Two things are clear: tampons contain all kinds of potentially harmful chemicals, and using them irresponsibly can lead to TSS. So we'll leave it up to you to decide if they are safe or not.
