Ecological/reusable make up pads

Cotton growing is one of the most polluting cultivation in the world. 2,5 % of cultivated areas on earth are used in that purpose. It seems to be much but it is nothing compared to the quantity of pesticides used: 24% of all the pesticides used in the world, to which one may add herbicides and fertilizer.

Because of this heavy ecological impact and human victims of cotton growing it is very important to look for alternatives for all throwable cotton-made items such as make-up pads, diapers, baby wipes, Q-tips, feminine protection and so on.

Buying organic-cotton items is a good start but as any thowable items that need to be replaced again and again, it requires more and more ressources.

I have already given reusable alternatives to sanitary towels and tampons and to Q-tips. Today is all about make-up pads.

I made - or to be more precise I knitted - some pads for christmas to offer with home-made make-up remover. I used cotton yarn I had found in a second-hand shop. If you were to buy it new, rather buy organic with regards to the first paragraph of this article. For pads made with non-organic cotton wash them before use so as to cleanse out all the chemicals (the same applies to new clothes, especially child clothes, underwears and bedsheets).

Cotton yarn is soft enough on the skin and if you know how to knit it's really not complicated.

Another solution is to use fleece. You just have to cut squares and that's it (no wild wires); it's even softer than cotton on the skin. If you reuse an old fleece jacket for example, it's even more economical.

Once you've made your pads, you don't need to buy some more so you save money.

A piece of advice when washing them in the washing machine: put them in a net or a sock so you won't find them stuck where they shouldn't be.

See also:
- Reduce/suppress waste in the bathroom
- Menstrual cup, feminine and environmental revolution

Comments

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