What can we learn about period poverty from girls in the Global South?

So thrilled that on International Women's Day, period poverty has been the topic of many posts on many platforms. It has finally started to enter the public consciousness. However, the answer is not only to provide free sanitary products. This perpetuates two problems: a) it encourages the idea that girls should 'put up and shut up', and b) it produces more plasticized waste that will not degrade for 500 years, and will block sewers or latrines or end up in landfill. It's not so difficult use washable sanitary protection. As long as it's clean and absorbent! What's wrong with a sock?!