Going for green

Petition calls for companies manufacturing single-use period products to go plastic-free

More than 106,000 people have signed a petition calling for plastic to be cut out of sanitary products, after it was set up by a postwoman on a mission to make manufacturers listen.

Ella Daish, from Vale of Glamorgan delivery office, first became interested in the damaging effects of plastic on the environment as she noticed that the amount of rubbish left on the streets of her round was on the rise.

‘I started to look at what changes I could make in my life to cut back on plastic, such as using a reusable water bottle,’ she said. ‘I was shocked when I realised that tampons and sanitary towels are made of up to 90% plastic.’

Ella started her petition – Make all Menstrual Products Plastic Free – last year, and has been shocked by the amount of support she has received.

She has been featured in articles in Vogue, HuffPost UK, The Ecologist and Wales Online, amongst others.

‘The aim is to get big manufacturers as well as supermarkets, who make their own branded sanitary items, to take responsibility for the unnecessary plastic they put into these products and to make change happen by going plastic-free.'

Ella says there are some plastic-free alternatives available, but they tend to be only sold online or in specialist shops.

‘This is an area where not much has changed for a long time, and the reaction to the petition shows that people want to see action,' she added.

'Women should be given the choice and we also shouldn’t have to pay more because we want to help the environment.'

You can sign the petition by visiting www.change.org/plasticfreeperiods

16 Jan 2019