Welcome to another week of Shaken Not Burned! 

Think about the products you use every day at home. The hand soap. The cleaning spray. The sponge for the dishes. The face cream. The toothpaste.

Why do you buy certain brands, with certain packaging and certain ingredients?

Whether it's because they were the products of our childhood, or the advertising has convinced us, or the price is just too convenient, we may not spend much time questioning our purchase decisions. It feels like consumers are pushed towards disposable items that contain powerful chemicals that may not necessarily be good for people or the environment.

But is there another way?

In this week’s episode, Giulia speaks to Ira Guha, founder at Asan, to challenge the consumer products status quo through the lens of the menstrual cup.

They explore the history of menstrual products, including their environmental and health impacts, and the issue of period poverty. Ira shares insights on the need for education and behaviour change to promote reusable options, which are not often displayed in shops and pharmacies, remaining a bit of a “secret”.

Breaking the taboo surrounding menstruation ignites the discussion on the vast array of reusable products. By opening up to other people who menstruate, we can discover that they are more environmentally friendly, and arguably more comfortable, than what the status quo has us believe.

This blueprint can be applied to all those products that we use on a daily basis. Can you make the switch to a reusable option today?

Reading materials:

• The hidden environmental cost of disposable period products

• History of periods by the Vagina Museum

• Understanding consumers’ purchase intentions of single-use plastic products

• Environmental and economic implications of disposable consumption

• 100 Everyday Reusable Items: The Definitive List

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