“This is a step in the right direction, but it would also require analyzes at the end of the factory”, said Friday March 11 on franceinfo Audrey Gloaguen, director of Tampon, our intimate enemy (France 5, 2017) and author of the book Semia published by Gallimard. A decree is in preparation to oblige manufacturers of periodic protection to be more transparent. The compositions of the periodic protections will be listed on the packaging “by January 1, 2023 at the latest”announced the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
franceinfo: What do you think of this draft decree?
Audrey Gloaguen: It’s going in the right direction but I regret that it happens 5 years after the documentary we made. But better late than never. It’s crazy that women use tampons without knowing exactly what they put in their body. Some brands have made efforts by indicating compositions but this is far from being the case for all manufacturers.
Is this lack of information due to a taboo around periods?
Yes, there is a taboo and until some time ago women were complicit in this taboo. I say this because we ourselves as women have not questioned the industrialists. It suited us well. Times have changed, women are more assertive, say things and want to know what exactly is in tampons and sanitary napkins.
Do you think this will push manufacturers to change the composition?
I think so. Politically, it’s the only way to force manufacturers and it’s terrible to come to that. But this is not enough. We would also need analyzes at the end of the factory. There are chemicals that come in during the making of tampons. The tests are done on the materials but during the manufacturing phase there are chemical reactions that are caused. So we would need analyzes at the factory gate, once the product is made.
Three years ago, ANSES identified a number of toxic substances in tampons and sanitary napkins. Do you wish there were more studies done?
Yes, because there are very few studies. It’s not glorious enough to study tampons. I hope that mentalities will change and that institutes will take hold of this. ANSES had said that it was not sufficient in the values observed, but I do not believe in that. We have clearly seen the cocktail effect with phthalates. We’re going to have some in the buffers, then in other stuff. I think that our body accumulates chemicals and that this notion of minimum value is no longer sufficient. The cocktail effect is a major environmental problem.