This post has been sponsored by the Organic Initiative Corporation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Today, I am talking about Organic Initiative (Oi) and their biocompact tampons. (Available in regular and super!) Before I get into all the details, I want to mention two things you should know. If you’re new to LMents of Style, listen up! I love talking about clean products (and welcome)! If you’re not, welcome back! Andddd these things should not come as a surprise to you. ;)

1) It isn’t my first time talking about periods on LMoS. In fact, I’ve talked about it openly several times!

2) With all my nontoxic lifestyle preaching, it was only a matter of time until I got into feminine hygiene with this topic. Long time coming!

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I’m all about bringing you attainable, nontoxic items to better your life. Today, I’m stoked to share with you something that I use that is budget friendly, can be purchased near you, andddd is perfect for summer. To be 100% honest, I free-bleed / wear period underwear most of the time, but since we are in the thick of summer, that isn’t always possible. I love being active and hanging out at the beach or pool. I don’t want to let my period keep me on the couch, so I reach for tampons to help me out!

Ever since I got off of birth control in January, I have been experiencing what is sometimes referred to as Luteal Phase Defect, which is basically just a fancy way of saying I get periods more frequently. During the summer, this means more chances to have my period and a pool party invite. With my recent trips to Playa del Carmen and LA, being in a swimsuit was pretty much my only option, so I’m super thankful for Oi Tampons. Especiallllly because they have a biocompact applicator, which makes them easy to pack and not take up a bunch of space! (Side note about Luteal Phase Defect, I have only been off the pill for 6 months, so I’m hoping it will work itself out. No, I have not been tested for low progesterone. I’m sure I’ll write more about that whole experience but another day, another time!)

So, why Oi tampons? What makes them different? Well, they actually have menstrual cups, pads, and liners, too, but my answer is the same why for all of their products! Summing it up in two words, my answer would simply be organic cotton. If you want to get a little more nerdy, they have a myriad of qualifications! They use certified organic cotton by Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and BioGro. Being certified by these organizations not only means that they obviously are made with organic cotton, but that they are non-GMO and are Fair Trade Certified! (To be GOTS certified, you have to meet Fair Trade Certifications.) Because they are organic cotton, they are also biodegradable; however, sustainability doesn’t stop with Oi’s actual products. They truly live out their biodegradable is not debatable mantra. The boxes are recyclable, their pads are individually wrapped in a biodegradable plant based wrapper, and their organic cotton tampon can come with a biocompact applicator which is a plant based bioplastic, or a cardboard one wrapped in paper. The company lives out their mission beyond the supply chain, working with others to donate tampons and pads to schools, providing employment to people with disabilities and supporting period poverty initiatives.

I know all these things probably sound well and good; however, to know how big of a deal the above is, you have to understand what the cotton industry is like and what the most of the feminine hygiene industry does and doesn’t do. First of all, most tampons and pads are made of either conventionally grown cotton or synthetic ingredients like manmade fabrics: rayon and viscose. PLUS, they contain bleaches (chlorine w/ by-product dioxin), dyes, chemicals, and sometimes even fragrance and dyes. Now, those things are all things that occur after the cotton is grown, but what about before the fibers are made into feminine care products? Cotton is one of the most sprayed crops in the world. It uses more than 25% of the world’s total insecticides! With conventionally grown cotton, you are not only at risk of being exposed to the after effects mentioned above but also to the residue of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, defoliants and fungicides. Not to mention, there’s a world of other issues if your tampons or pads are made of a synthetic fiber. Those contain plastics like polythene, polypropylene and polyacrylatel, surfactants, and even chlorine-bleached wood pulp. And we are sticking these gross ingredients where?! I say “we” because I grew up using tampons like this. I didn’t know better and it is okay if you didn’t know better until now; however, it is now our duty to educate others on this matter. Another problem with conventional feminine care products is waste. They are made of plastic components, so they are not biodegradable like Oi’s products. They can end up on beaches and kill marine life!

So, what does the previous paragraph mean for you? How does it directly affect you, as I list mostly indirect affects? I am no medical expert, but it doesn't take

much searching to see that chemical and sprays are unhealthy for us and are endocrine disrupters. If you follow any of my clean beauty posts, I use those two words a lot. When something disrupts your endocrine system, it affects your hormones, which pretty much affects how your body runs as a whole. And we are putting these things directly INSIDE our bodies?! Green beauty is on the rise and I sure hope feminine health is on the rise, too. With skincare, you hear all the time that 60% of the items you put on your skin is absorbed into the bloodstream. What about what you’re literally shoving inside of you?! Tampon and sanitary pad companies are not required to share their ingredients, so how will others know unless we help them understand the situation? It is very scary and I’m so glad Oi exists and is helping shed light on an issue that literally affects us all.

You can learn more about Oi and find Oi tampons and other feminine products at your local CVS!

To learn more about Oi and the Organic Initiative, click here.