Tampon Manufacturers Response to This Petition's Topic

Dear all, I have emailed all tampon manufacturers listed as Decision Makers, asking them whether their products are biodegradable. I also expressed my concern over the direct co-relation between menstruation and pollution. Manufacturers have confirmed that switching to biodegradable tampon wrappers IS POSSIBLE. It will require additional investment in resources but then again, this is true for any product iteration or new product launch. Sadly, at present, manufacturers feel NO pressure to invest in biodegradable materials. If switching to biodegradable materials IS POSSIBLE, businesses need an incentive to spend their budget exploring this alternative. Many customers requesting such change is a sufficient reason for them to do so. Businesses care what their customers want and need. Let us give them this reason! Please see manufacturer responses below: TOM Organic (via e-mail): "Hi Iva, Thanks for taking the time to write to us. We always like to receive direct feedback from our customers as this is the only way we can continue to improve. The plastic wrapping around each tampon is not biodegradable, yet… The wrapping itself is a health requirement and you will notice that all tampons must have this wrapper. We are working on a biodegradable alternative and as soon as we find a material that meets the requirements we will start to use it. Unfortunately it’s not a simple as just switching out a material, there are lots of factors that need to be accounted for: it has to be able to run through the manufacturers machines, it can’t compromise the speed of the production line, and it needs to have good shelf life and wastage ratios. This is the case with the plastic packaging around our other products too. We understand your concerns regarding the additional packaging. We added it because we are committed to health and hygiene first and foremost, but the extra packaging also ensures the pads cannot be tampered with whilst on shelf. Our liners are individually wrapped to serve a functional purpose because we received an overwhelming amount of feedback from our community asking for an individually wrapped organic liner for women to carry in their bags and purses. I know it isn't ideal but we do understand your concerns around the extra plastic. We were very hesitant to bring it to market and please know that we are in the process of investigating our options to move to a suitable bioplastic material. As I'm sure you are aware, there are many types of "bioplastics" on the market - many of which are not actually suitable for composting - and it is important to us that we choose the right bio-plastic which works from both a functionality and environmental perspective. I hope this answers your question but please let me know if you have any more as we do value and appreciate your comments. Be well, Inga" COTTONS (via Facebook) "Hi Iva, Unfortunately while our tampons are 100% natural/chemical free cotton, the plastic wrapping on the outside is not 'biodegradable'. While we are working towards more environmentally friendly packages across the range, our main priority for the moment is hygiene and making sure our products are packaged to ensure this. Thanks"