Did you think tampons were made of cotton? You are not alone. The teenage girls Kaja Eide Bakke, Nora Waage, Lena Olsen Egeland, Ingrid Sigurdsen and Thea Dragsund from Stavanger also thought so until recently. – The one time I was at the store, I saw a tampon pack with the words “plastic free” on it, says Ingrid Sigurdsen. – I thought it was strange. We didn’t know there was any plastic in them, continued Nora Waage. This logo can be found on the packaging of single-use products that contain plastic. Photo: Tone Ollestad No need to inform Not all tampon packs have a list of contents. But they inform if there is plastic in the product. – I have never seen an ingredient list, says Kaja Eide Bakke. – Haven’t realized that it’s a smart thing to check, says Waage. The manufacturers are not legally obliged to write the ingredients on the packaging. In addition, there are no regulations for chemicals in tampons. news already wrote about this in 2020. The regulations have not been changed since. – It was a shock to me that no one regulates what we take up in our abdomen, says Siri Rafos Baustad. Midwife Siri Rafos Baustad says that the skin in the vagina absorbs a lot via the blood. Photo: Tone Ollestad She is a midwife and also believed until recently that tampons were made of cotton. – I was not aware that there was plastic in it. I am quite shocked, she says. The vagina can absorb a lot Martin Wagner is researching nano- and microplastics and hormone mimics at NTNU in Trondheim. – I work with plastic pollution, and it had never occurred to me that there was plastic in menstrual products, he says. Martin Wagner at NTNU researches nano- and microplastics, hormone mimics and toxicology. Photo: Thor Nielsen / NTNU He is surprised that there are no specific regulations for these products in the EU. – The vulva and vagina absorb chemicals more easily, compared to cosmetics we put on the skin, he says. In Norway and the EU, it is common for food and cosmetics to have a clear list of ingredients. This is so that those with allergies know what they are putting in and on. But these rules do not apply to tampons. Even though they also have to enter the body. This is not necessarily made of cotton, as many people think. Photo: Karina Kaupang Jørgensen Wagner says that plastic in tampons has been discussed around the lunch table at NTNU this summer. – It is something I may have to look into more, he says. Claiming information State Secretary Sigrid Hagerup Melhuus (Ap) in the Ministry of Climate and Environment says that tampons should not be dangerous. – I don’t know what tampons are made of, but they must follow the rules. All products that go to consumers must be safe according to existing legislation, she says. Sigrid Hagerup Melhuus (Ap) works in the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Photo: CECILIE BERGAN STUEDAL / CECILIE BERGAN STUEDAL The Environmental Information Act states that consumers must have the opportunity to obtain information about the products they buy. – You have the right to specific information about the product. You can ask for this, says Melhuus. This means that you yourself have to contact individual tampon manufacturers to get an answer. The girls from Stavanger don’t think this is good enough. They have a clear idea of what should happen. – There should be a set of regulations, says Waage. – Are they united in that? – Yes, shout all the girls in unison. Thea Dragsund thinks it’s bad that no one pays attention to what women put into their bodies. Photo: Tone Ollestad
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