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Environmental Impact
In addition to the financial expense of monthly products, there are environmental considerations. A study by the Life Cycle Initiative found that there are 19 billion single-use menstrual products used each year in the USA, often individually wrapped in plastic, with 80% of those products ending up in landfills and the plastic components taking up to 500 years to decompose. The manufacturing processes to produce these single-use products cause further negative impact on the environment.
Reusable options that have less environmental impact exist, but they have a higher upfront cost. This means that even though it saves money and the environment over time, the initial cost can put them out of reach of low-income consumers.