Hygiene Archives

Home Hygiene

Members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) make low-cost sanitary pads at their facility in Ahmedabad, India, on September 3rd, 2012. Prompted by the widespread suffering of women and girls in rural areas who continue to be plagued by unhygienic old cloth pieces or rags during their menstrual cycle periods, SEWA is manufacturing low-cost sanitary pads with a production capacity at 2,000 pads per day.

Viewfinder: Creating Low-Cost Sanitary Pads for Menstrual Hygiene Day

Members of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) make low-cost sanitary pads at their facility in Ahmedabad, India. May 28th marks the sixth annual Menstrual Hygiene Day, created to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management.

Pacific Standard Staff

Social Justice

A Brief History of Showers as a Treatment and a Torture

Showers, now a mainstay of our daily routines, were once a cure for insanity and criminality.

Kate Wheeling

Social Justice

Needed: Clean Water, Toilets, and Soap in Hospitals

A new report highlights low- and middle-income countries' need for basic hospital infrastructure and supplies.

Nathan Collins

Education

We Need to Talk About Our Periods

People, it seems, are comfortable talking about contraception and about girls living in poverty, but not about their periods, which remain a major hurdle to education in places where adequate facilities are non-existent.

Marni Sommer & Bethany Caruso

Social Justice

What Life Is Like When Having Your Period Means You Are Shunned by Society

Rose George reports from Nepal and Bangladesh on menstrual taboos.

Rose George

Social Justice

This Man Wants You to Pick Your Nose and Eat It

You've eaten boogers before—admit it. You might even do it now. Either way, one biochemist thinks you're onto something.

Ryan O'Hanlon

Environment

Finding Health, and Opportunity, in the Latrine

Ecological sanitation, or 'ecosan,' can provide both improved hygiene and an income for the majority of the world, where just getting a sip of clean water can be a challenge.

David Richardson