Opinion: Modibodi

Think of this: A person who has a menstrual cycle on average uses over 240 tampons each year, or over 9,600 in their lifetime. When thinking about this in terms of waste per year, the United States alone discards over 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons.

When I first heard those statistics, my mouth dropped to the floor. I took a look at the tampons and pads that I had in my bathroom and just was astonished at the amount of plastics it contains and thinking about how many i've gone through in my 26 years of life. So what can you as person with a period do to cut down on this waste? For me, I've always been more of a fan of pads so it made sense to start doing the research on reusable pads or period panties. Thanks to the great sustainable communities on Facebook and Instagram, I came across an Australian period panty company called Modibodi.

For starters, I am not endorsed by Modibodi (but wouldn't mind it...) or writing this as an ad. This is my true opinion of the products that I paid for myself. With that said, I did hear amazing things about other brands such as Thinx but as I did more research on Modibodi, I liked their philosophy behind the company as well as their styles a little more. I wouldn't mind giving Thinx a try one day and will definitely compare the two when I do.

So as someone who has never used period panties, I was pretty clueless on how many you need and just the whole process of it all. I ended up buying just a pair of their new vegan options - one light/moderate and the other heavy/overnight because I wasn't sure if I would be a fan and didn't want to spend the extra money if I ended up disliking them. I can definitely say that I regret not buying more. They are extremely comfortable - even the heavy/overnight and not at all bulky. The first few days, I was a little worried about leaks but wore mine comfortably for hours, even rode on a long bike ride and absolutely no leaks. You also just feel a bit of freedom being able to bleed with no uncomfortable items shifting or having to be changed constantly. I personally have periods that are lighter and heavier but this time around, it ended up being lighter so it definitely helped ease any anxieties I had about giving these a try.

Because I only had two, I had to be pretty thoughtful on when I could wash them but luckily, I had a few loads of laundry to do throughout the week, so I simply rinsed mine out, put on a fresh pair and put the others in the washer on delicate cold with the other clothing. Once it was done, I hung them up to dry and repeated the process! If you're interested in learning more about the technology behind Modibodi and the cleaning process, check their information here.

This was the first zero waste period I've had and can honestly say that I don't want to go back. There is no reason to grab another plastic tampon or wasteful pad again when you have period panties or menstrual cups as options. As for these Modibodis, I can easily say that I would buy several more pairs in the future and would highly recommend this brand to people wanting to make the switch.