An entire aisle in CVS is dedicated to color-coded pads and tampons. Adorned with pleasant words and phrases such as “pearl” and “carefree,” they are green, yellow and purple. Each box competes for my attention. Expensive name brand products have “no-slip grips,” are thin and comfortable or smell faintly like rosewater.

Interacting with the male cashier is not as alluring. I am struck with a sense of embarrassment after buying feminine products. There is no eye contact. The tampons that begged me to buy them are thrown into a bag and quickly hidden like a Playboy Magazine. I buy them because they are convenient and a necessity, but I maintain a level of discreteness.

In 1995, a copy of the Village Voice featured a woman on the front cover with a string between her legs, (the string was attached to a tampon), for an article on Toxic Shock Syndrome. Besides advertisements for feminine products and PMS medication, the cover was virtually alone in its overt mention of periods in the media. What followed instead were issues of Seventeen! Magazine and phrases like, “toilet paper impromptu” buried deep within the “Embarrassing stories!” section. Why is something so common and natural regarded as shameful? Why are women both expected to shell out money for pads and tampons and at the same time keep them hidden?

Women of the 1800s did not have the option of pads or tampons. They received flack for washing blood out of their clothes and bed sheets. Today, women have more resources but are still baited with fancy boxes and senseless claims. Women in America are expected to go about their days as usual while menstruating, making disposable products like tampons a go-to. Are tampons and pads the only option? If so, should women have to pay for them throughout their lifetimes?

Tapestry Health offers free condoms in its lobbies, but not tampons or any feminine hygienic products. Why do some state institutions also provide one but not the other? Are feminine products not pertinent to a woman’s health and life? Big brand names like Tampax and Kotex recognize the undeniable need for their products. Tampons have a one-time use limitability because it’s more valuable to these companies that women keep coming back for more, rather than being staved off by some sort of cure for menstruation. There are options like birth control pills and hysterectomies, both of which are gaining popularity among women and can cease a woman’s period altogether. Surgeries are not associated with convenience, however, and despite the 600,000 hysterectomies per year, many women are still loyal to feminine hygienic products.

There are enough women, in fact, that the feminine hygiene industry is worth $2 billion annually. Big businesses are making a profit off of women’s needs, which would be easier to understand if they had our health and best interest in mind. They do not. Tampons contain bleach as well as traces of dioxin, and are also linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome – a syndrome which can lead to death.

In truth, scientists still know very little about health associated with menstrual cycles, and only one industry funds research on menstruation: the feminine hygiene industry. Rather than putting money toward discovering the optimal safe and healthy options for women, the feminine hygiene industry (the $2 billion one) uses money and time to develop their personal products such as pads and tampons. Do we have other options?

There are alternatives to tampons, such as the “Mooncup,” one of several reusable, silicone menstrual cups. The “Mooncup” has a lack of presence in the media. It is a small business and does not have the means to advertise on the same scale as Tampax or Kotex. Menstrual cups have been around since the 1930s, yet they are not well-known. They do not possess the convenience of a disposable product, though menstrual cups last for years, which, naturally, is not appealing to the feminine hygienic industry because it doesn’t guarantee that customers will buy again and again.

Young women are not brought up to consider every option during their periods. I was bombarded with advertisements and 12-year-old testimonials before I thought to research eco-friendly alternatives to tampons. The People’s Market on campus sells menstrual cups and biodegradable tampons next to the front register alongside facts about the negative effects regular tampons have on our bodies and our environment. Women need more resources like this to discover safer, cheaper and greener alternatives, ideally before college. Rather than regarding menstruation as something shameful or secretive, we should encourage open conversation and make the alternative to tampons part of the dialogue.

Rachael Roth is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].