how much will you save with cloth pads?

Ever wonder how much money you could save by switching to GladRags cloth menstrual pads?

A few weeks ago, we shared this message from GladRags user Lilith on Facebook:

I was just wondering about how much money I've saved since beginning cloth pad use and came up with this for my usage:

Average box of tampons - $7 at about 9 boxes per year
Average box of pantiliners - $6 at about 12 boxes per year
Approximate amount of money I have spent on cloth pads since the beginning - $200
Number of years on cloth instead of disposables - 12

Adding taxes at 10%, which is what it averages around here means that my total money saved by using reusable menstrual products is about $1,562. And that's not even counting the savings of gas money to and from the store each month. I didn't adjust for laundry costs, because I just throw them in with loads I was already going to do. Impressive total!  I can definitely think of better ways to spend that much money than throwing it into a landfill!

Inspired by this post, GladRags user S. sent us this email:

A few weeks ago you posted someone’s savings by using cloth. I just sat down and figured it out. The numbers are staggering! I am sure you hear that often though. :)

Before I get into the numbers, I feel it only fair to share my circumstances and what brought me to using cloth pads. I started trying them out because I was dealing with a heavy flow with flooding. When I say heavy, I mean an ultra tampon and 2 overnight pads an hour heavy. Often, I could only get a half hour. After 5 years of this, I spoke with my doc and got the flow to a more average level. This did put me in the position of having surprise spotting now and then so I now wear a liner between periods. I have purchased several brands of pads/liners and have made some of my own. This has all been taken into account when figuring the cost and savings. Now for the numbers.

The grand total for disposable pads/liners for the past 10 years for me would have been $3565.20. The total spent on cloth pads/pantyliners $952.82. A nice savings of $2612.82. Even before I figured out the savings, I have wished I started using cloth sooner due to the comfort. This savings is just the icing on the cake. :)

How much have you saved since switching to cloth? Let us know in the comments! If you haven't made the switch yet -- order your own GladRags now and don't waste another penny!

About the author of this post:

tracy is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to read, travel, practice yoga, and hang out with her cats.