Ayşe Kaplan Sarısaltık, Marie Hebrok, and Tore Gulden
Menstruation practices have significant environmental implications due to the widespread use of disposable menstrual products containing plastic. Despite growing concern over single-use plastics, menstrual products remain largely overlooked in sustainability discussions. This study investigates the intersection of menstruation practices and plastic consumption, aiming to address the lack of attention to menstrual products in sustainability discussions. Drawing from social practice theory and systemic design, the research explores potential intervention areas within menstruation practices to reduce plastic consumption. We conducted visual interviews and workshops to identify diverse perspectives and understandings of participants, leading to a variety of intervention suggestions. The findings of the empirical research are presented in two sections. The first section describes how participants understand menstruation practices, focusing on the elements of practices (materials, meanings, and competences), the interconnected bundles and complexes of practices, and the inter-relations between them. Secondly, we present the suggested interventions by contextualising them with participants’ perspectives following Soft System Methodology. The synthesised interventions are categorised into four key areas: (1) replacement of disposable products with reusable alternatives, (2) social dynamics, knowledge, and taboo, (3) policy changes, and (4) infrastructure. Overall, findings emphasise the importance of considering broader social dynamics and using relational and comprehensive approaches in promoting sustainable menstruation practices.
KEYWORDS: systemic design, social practice theory, menstruation, plastic consumption, sustainability