Environmenstrual Week: Menstrual Equity and Environmental Justice
- Ashley Tamburello
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
This week marks Environmenstrual Week (20-26 October), a campaign led by the Women’s Environmental Network to highlight the connection between menstrual equity and environmental justice.
In this day and age, it is unacceptable that so many still live in period poverty. Around 500 million worldwide lack access to safe, affordable menstrual care. The result is that girls miss school, women are excluded from leadership and decision making, and we all lose vital voices in restoration and regeneration.
The deep link between gender equity and environmental restoration is something we understand well. When barriers to participation are removed and opportunities for education, livelihoods, and engagement exist, women and girls can fully participate in their communities and drive lasting change for themselves and the environment.
An example of this in action is our restoration project in Uganda. Alongside our partners, ITF and the Alpha Women Empowerment Initiative, women have not only planted thousands of trees and bamboo, regenerating landscapes and stabilising fragile slopes, but also produced reusable sanitary pads for their communities. This meeting of restoration and equity has seen absenteeism in nearby Mbunga schools drop from 29% to 11%, and drop-out rates fall from 17% to 7%.
These results are overwhelmingly clear: by providing the conditions that keep girls in school, we open the door to a new generation of women leaders, decision makers, and environmental stewards, both locally and globally.
And access to period care and menstrual products is not only a social issue but also an environmental one. Over 100 billion disposable pads and tampons are used each year, many taking centuries to decompose. Their plastics, pulp, and chemicals drive deforestation and pollution, putting further pressure on the forests and ecosystems that sustain us all. Choosing reusable, eco-friendly menstrual products is a simple step all of us can take to reduce waste and lessen our impact on the planet.
Environmenstrual Week is a call to action. By supporting menstrual equity, choosing sustainable products, and taking environmental action, we all play a part in regenerating ecosystems, uplifting women and girls, and creating a healthier, more equitable world for all.