Wen’s Take: We’ve Reached the Tipping Point
By Kate Metcalf, Co-Director, Wen
This week is Environmenstrual Week of Action, and we’re making history. After 35 years of campaigning for safer, more sustainable period products, Wen is taking our Toxic Tipping Point campaign right to the heart of government.
On Wednesday, we’ll head to the House of Lords with our allies and leading experts to make one thing clear: we’ve reached the tipping point on toxic period products. We’ll also deliver our petition – signed by over 60,000 people – straight to Defra, calling for urgent regulation to keep all menstrual products safe.
Why does this matter? Because every month, millions of women, girls and people who menstruate are exposed to harmful chemicals through the very products they trust most. Our research with Pesticide Action Network UK found pesticides in tampons at 40 times the safe limit for drinking water, and independent studies have detected PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’ and heavy metals linked to cancers, infertility, and hormone disruption.
35 years to the tipping point
For over three decades, Wen has been fighting for women’s health and toxic-free periods. In 1989, our groundbreaking report The Sanitary Protection Scandal exposed the hidden health and environmental dangers of tampons and pads – from chlorine bleaching to toxic additives. That same year, Wen successfully campaigned to end chlorine bleaching in single-use pads and nappies.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Wen continued to link women’s health to toxic chemical exposure – from pesticides like Lindane to pollutants tied to breast cancer – helping to secure bans and stronger product safety laws across Europe.
In 2018, we launched the Environmenstrual Campaign, bringing together campaigners, educators and ethical brands to tackle plastic waste and chemical pollution in menstrual products. We trained over 50 ambassadors to deliver sustainable period education nationwide and built a growing global coalition for menstrual health, dignity and justice.
And yet, here we are – 35 years later – still fighting for the same basic right: to know that our period products are safe.
Wen is calling for
This Environmenstrual Week, Wen is leading the call for government regulation to ensure all menstrual products are safe to use. We’re demanding:
- Regulation to make all menstrual products safe
- Independent testing for harmful chemicals
- Full ingredient disclosure
- High safety standards for products in schools and public facilities
It shouldn’t fall to individual consumers to play detective every month, trying to decipher ingredients hidden behind trademarked names or misleading claims. Regulation is the only way to ensure safety for women, girls and people who menstruate who are too often ignored or left out of decisions that affect our health.
This week, as we take our campaign to Westminster, I’m proud of how far Wen has come – from a small group of eco-feminists exposing the sanitary protection scandal to leading a national movement demanding #ToxicFreePeriods.
We’ve reached the tipping point. Now it’s time for change.
Sign Wen’s petition to demand #ToxicFreePeriods
Wen’s Environmenstrual History
35 Years to the Tipping Point
Wen has been campaigning for women’s health and toxic-free periods since 1988. We warned about the dangers long before others were listening.
1989: The Sanitary Protection Scandal
Wen published The Sanitary Protection Scandal – the first book to expose the hidden health and environmental impacts of pads, tampons, and nappies. We showed how chlorine bleaching and toxic chemicals put both women and the planet at risk. That same year, Wen successfully campaigned to end chlorine bleaching in single-use period pads and nappies.
1990s: From Breast Cancer to Chemical Pollution
Wen linked women’s health to toxic chemical exposure – from pesticides like Lindane to pollutants tied to breast cancer. We helped ban Lindane and pushed for prevention-focused cancer policy that recognised environmental causes.
Early 2000s: Women Taking Action for a Healthier Planet
At the turn of the millennium, Wen mobilised women globally to act on chemicals, waste, and pollution. We lobbied the European Westminster on REACH – the EU chemicals regulation – to make products safer across Europe.
2002 onwards: The Evidence on Toxic Chemicals in Period Products Mounts
Independent studies going back two decades have found toxic chemicals and heavy metals in period products, from arsenic to biocidal silver.
2018: The Environmenstrual Campaign is Born
Wen created the Environmenstrual Campaign and launched the first Environmenstrual Week of Action – uniting activists, educators, and ethical brands to end plastic waste and toxic chemicals in period products. We built the Environmenstrual Coalition and trained 50 Ambassadors to lead sustainable period education nationwide.
2021: Gender, Justice and Chemicals
Wen co-authored Together for a Toxic-Free Future – calling for gender-equitable protection from toxic chemicals. We made clear: women’s bodies are not testing grounds for pollution.
2025: Blood, Sweat and Pesticides Report
Our Blood, Sweat and Pesticides research with Pesticide Action Network UK revealed pesticides in tampons at 40 times the safe limit for drinking water.
And now, so-called forever chemicals – substances that never break down – are showing up in period products and reusable products too.
TODAY: The Tipping Point
Despite two decades of evidence, political debates and growing public outrage, regulation has barely moved. This is the tipping point. Without urgent action, millions will remain exposed every single month.
What you can do
Become part of our global movement to make sure toxic period products become a thing of the past:
Join over 50,000 people: Sign Wen’s petition demanding Government action to get toxic chemicals out of period products and share your support using #ToxicFreePeriodsPetition https://www.wen.org.uk/toxicfreeperiodspetition/
Pledge your support for Wen’s Menstrual Health, Dignity and Sustainability Act, backed by experts, academics and period product brands https://www.wen.org.uk/menstrual-act/
Write to Chemicals Minister Emma Hardy to demand action to eliminate pesticides and other harmful chemicals from period products https://www.pan-uk.org/period-products/
Demand #ToxicFreePeriods this #EnvironmenstrualWeek (20–26 October). Together we can turn the #ToxicTippingPoint into lasting change. How to get involved: https://www.wen.org.uk/our-work/environmenstrual/
Kate Metcalf, Co-director, Wen
Kate has over 20 years’ experience developing community and international networks within international development and environmental organisations with a focus on gender and social justice. Kate leads Wen’s Feminist Green New Deal project aiming to ensure that women, racialised and marginalised groups are central to the green economy.
