Evidence for sustainability 

1. Cotton water use
Chapagain, A.K., Hoekstra, A.Y., Savenije, H.H.G. & Gautam, R. (2005). The Water Footprint of Cotton Consumption. Value of Water Research Report Series No. 18, UNESCO-IHE.
https://www.waterfootprint.org/resources/Report18.pdf

2. Synthetic polymer water use
Comparative water-footprint data for polymer manufacturing, showing under 100 litres of water per kg produced, versus several thousand litres per kg for cotton.
Source: PMC (National Library of Medicine). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6918390/

3. Cotton as a heavily-sprayed crop
Organic Trade Association (2018). Cotton and the Environment. (Citing U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Chemical Use Program, July 2018.)
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Chemical_Use/

4. Glyphosate found in a tampon at 40x the drinking water limit
Pesticide Action Network UK & Women's Environmental Network (WEN) (2025). Blood, Sweat and Pesticides: A Closer Look at Toxic Chemicals in Period Products. May 2025.
https://www.wen.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Blood-Sweat-and-Pesticides-1-May-2025.pdf