Menstrual cup for the eco-friendly
Climate concerns are never far away it seems. Even the most intimate of female monthly rituals carries an eco-friendly alternative.
According to the state pharmacy chain Apoteket the average woman uses a whole room full of tampons in her lifetime. The "menstrual cup" is a reusable device designed to replace this tampon mountain and provide an eco-friendly alternative for the climate-conscious modern woman.
The "menstrual cup" is normally made out of silicon, measures 40-46 millimeter in diameter and is 45-50 millimetres long - slightly shorter that a tampon.
The cup can contain 15-30 millilitres of menstrual fluid and should be emptied once or twice a day. The cup can be reused for several years.
Despite being conscious of the impact of tampon-use on the environment, Apoteket does not however stock the product.
"It is a new product, isn't it, and I don't even know if it is on sale in Sweden. We had a similar product in our assortment in the 1960s but it went out of stock, probably due to low demand," said Kerstin Lindgren at Apoteket to The Local.
"We conduct quality controls of all new products and then decide if it is anything that we should stock. We have not taken any decision yet over whether to test the menstrual cup," Lindgren added.
Aside from its environmental benefits the menstrual cup is useful for training, as its sits tight to the body, and is particularly useful in the summer as women can swim even during their time of the month without worrying about the risk of embarrassing leakages.
Menskoppen.se, a company that distributes the popular Mooncup in Sweden, claims that period ache is also eased.
"Many women say that their period ache has improved or disappeared altogether since they made the switch to the menstrual cup. This could be because the menstrual cup sits significantly lower down than regular tampons."
The menstrual cup retails at around 260 kronor ($44) in Sweden and is available online and at ten alternative pharmacies and organic health stores across Sweden.
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According to the state pharmacy chain Apoteket the average woman uses a whole room full of tampons in her lifetime. The "menstrual cup" is a reusable device designed to replace this tampon mountain and provide an eco-friendly alternative for the climate-conscious modern woman.
The "menstrual cup" is normally made out of silicon, measures 40-46 millimeter in diameter and is 45-50 millimetres long - slightly shorter that a tampon.
The cup can contain 15-30 millilitres of menstrual fluid and should be emptied once or twice a day. The cup can be reused for several years.
Despite being conscious of the impact of tampon-use on the environment, Apoteket does not however stock the product.
"It is a new product, isn't it, and I don't even know if it is on sale in Sweden. We had a similar product in our assortment in the 1960s but it went out of stock, probably due to low demand," said Kerstin Lindgren at Apoteket to The Local.
"We conduct quality controls of all new products and then decide if it is anything that we should stock. We have not taken any decision yet over whether to test the menstrual cup," Lindgren added.
Aside from its environmental benefits the menstrual cup is useful for training, as its sits tight to the body, and is particularly useful in the summer as women can swim even during their time of the month without worrying about the risk of embarrassing leakages.
Menskoppen.se, a company that distributes the popular Mooncup in Sweden, claims that period ache is also eased.
"Many women say that their period ache has improved or disappeared altogether since they made the switch to the menstrual cup. This could be because the menstrual cup sits significantly lower down than regular tampons."
The menstrual cup retails at around 260 kronor ($44) in Sweden and is available online and at ten alternative pharmacies and organic health stores across Sweden.
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