Are Your Tampons Toxic?

Hello to all! Today I am talking about a subject that some may be uncomfortable with, FEMININE HYGIENE, and YOUR PERIOD! In the new YouTube video I share down below are the reasons why I felt the need to shed some light on the subject a and generate some conversation! Did you know that tampons and sanitary pad manufacturers aren’t required to disclose the ingredients the use because feminine hygiene products are considered “medical devices.” !!? In fact , many if not most of today’s feminine hygiene products contain rayon, vicose, bleached with chloride and infused with cellulose wood fluff pulp..and NOT actually cotton! AHHH THE RAGE I HAVE! Some tampons and pads do contain cotton, but most contain rayon, a synthetic material. Rayon and viscose are dangerous because of their highly absorbent fibers, which can therefore stick to your vaginal wall. When you remove the tampon, the loosened fibers stay behind, creating a bigger TSS risk (Toxic Shock Syndrome).
I had previously posted about this before on my Instagram and suggested LOLA for a replacement , and I still stand by my suggestion although the one thing is that their cotton is not organic, so although they are a safer option to use , they are not the safest. After finishing up my Lola box of tampons I switched over to Natracare for all of my feminine hygiene products. Their products are compostable, plastic free, perfume free, chlorine free, and are made from natural organic cotton!  you can find these products at your local Whole Foods.

Today however, I also introduced a new 100% organic, biodegradable tampon subscription box, and my new go to for hygienic products: Kali !

From the sweet Kali representative, Amanda: “Kali is a brand that raises the questions “What are women putting in their bodies?” and “How sustainable are these products women use every month?” Women use, on average, 9,000 tampons in their life. Each tampon, if made with 100% cotton, takes about six months to biodegrade. Not to mention, 75% of cotton in the US is potentially genetically modified. In addition to providing 100% Certified Organic Tampons, Kali also donates $1 from every box sold to Girl Up, the adolescent girl empowerment campaign of the United Nation’s Foundation. Kali is working with organizations like Girl Up to change the conversation around menstruation and help to reduce the stigma that surrounds our periods worldwide.”
Can we talk about how amazing this company is? … WOW! I am blown away by these disturbing facts and am also so stoked / happy I get to share this information and this brand with you all!

Some more astonishing facts that Amanda from Kali shared with me:

$15 Billion Feminine Hygiene Product Industry Challenged by Sustainable and Organic Alternatives

For decades, brands like Tampax, Playtex, and Kotex had the feminine hygiene market cornered. But with the rise of sustainable products, green living and social consciousness, the marketplace has opened up for brands that are offering alternatives to the old go-tos that the masses have ignorantly used for years.
Kali, an organic and socially conscious tampon subscription box launched in October of 2015, is a brand that raises the questions “What are women putting in their bodies?” and “How sustainable are these products women use every month?” Women use, on average, 9,000 tampons in their life. Each tampon, if made with 100% cotton, takes about six months to biodegrade. Not to mention, 75% of cotton in the US is potentially genetically modified.
Kali offers subscribers 100% Certified Organic & Biodegradable Tampons along with natural feminine essentials and donates $1 from every box sold to the Girl Up Campaign, which empowers adolescent girls in the hardest places across the globe to be a girl. The box retails for $25 per month with free shipping and arrives by the 1st of every month. Each box contains 14 Kali Tampons, 10 Kali Wipettes, and a rotating “Period Pampering Product” specially chosen for “Kali Girls” each month.Kali was Co-Founded by Jonna Piira and Sara Shake in South Florida. The thirty-something partners combined their complimentary skillsets to create a business plan and secure funding for the launch of the company. Piira, a consulting CFO and Operations expert, alongside Shake, the founder of a boutique PR firm found that their shared experience created the perfect formula for the start-up.
“Women, and especially millennials, are shopping with purpose and supporting brands that value social consumerism. They are demanding transparency when it comes to ingredients, and even now, the FDA does not require that feminine hygiene manufacturers reveal the ingredients in their
products. It’s up to the brands themselves to educate the consumer.” Piira goes on to say, “Many of us got handed a Tampax tampon when we were thirteen and never gave the products that we used each month a second thought—for years! Now that things are
changing around the menstruation conversation, and now that it is becoming more socially acceptable to talk about our periods, women are finally questioning the products that go in their body and looking
for smarter alternatives,”

Kali is an organic and socially conscious tampon subscription box founded in 2014 by friends Jonna Piira and Sara Shake. Each Kali Box is shipped on the 20th of the month and includes 14 100% Certified Organic Kali Tampons, 10 Kali Wipettes, and The Mist, an All Natural Rosewater Facial Toner and Aromatherapy Spray. Kali is available throughout the United States, and retails for $20 per month. For more information visit www.kaliboxes.com

XOXO, L.V