Lunapads Blog

We love the irreverent tone of National Post columnist and Green as a Thistle blogger Vanessa Farquharson’s new debut memoir, Sleeping Naked is Green: How an eco-cynic unplugged her fridge, sold her car, and found love in 366 days.  She is a major Lunapads and DivaCup proponent, and has a particularly humorous story to tell about Lunapads, excerpted below:

september 29, day 213
Eat ice cream in a cone rather than a plastic cup. I thought that writing about Jake Gyllenhaal was the best way to get
more hits on my blog — man, was I wrong. Turns out, there’s another subject that’s guaranteed to get twice as many hits as Jake, and that
subject is menstruation. It’s totally bizarre — I mean it’s not as though
the only people procrastinating in the blogosphere are women, let
alone women who are very in touch with their bodies and like talking
about how in touch with their bodies they are. Or is it?
Either way, I realized this at some point yesterday, when my post
about using Lunapads reusable cloth pantyliners got upward of forty
comments, many of which revolved around topics like how to
clean them in the sink or a bucket, whether to subsequently empty
the bloody water into one’s potted plants, and so on, going into
enough detail to spoil my homemade lunch.
A funny back story to the Lunapads, though: I’d already bought
my own but the company who makes them found my blog and
decided to send me a bunch for free. They asked for my address,
so I decided to use the one at the National Post. The day they arrived,
I wasn’t in the office, but my editor was. Ben ended up making
dinner plans that night with Kelly, one of the reporters who
used to work with us, who was in Toronto for a brief visit to see his
old friends. Ben decided to bring him some sort of welcome-back
present and went rummaging through the Arts & Life swag pile.
(more…)

Suzanne and I were in Anaheim CA a couple of weeks ago, where we attended the Natural Products Expo West trade show. It’s a busy place that can be a bit overwhelming, but there was no shortage of inspiration to be had.   One of the major highlights for us was running into Peggy O’Mara, founder of Mothering magazine. 

I hadn’t seen Peggy since I attended a workshop she was leading 3 years ago at Hollyhock.  It was a very special time for me, and I was joined there not only by my then-5 month old daughter Gigi, but also by my Mom Pat.  Peggy held the space for our stories, joys and fears, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with one of the most influential figures in the natural parenting movement.

Peggy and Mothering have been huge sources of inspiration and information for Suzanne and I as Moms, and we are very excited that she will be here in Vancouver delivering the keynote address at the Healthy Families Conference, April 18 and 19 (co-sponsored by our friend Bridgitte from Natural Pod natural toys.)  We are trying to line up a visit with Peggy here at Lunapads as well, so stay tuned!

We have started our film-star careers as videomakers here at Lunapads.  Such an interesting way to tell our story, as well as enlighten prospective customers about how to use our products.  Here is one of our first in our “Period Talk with the Lunagals” series, featuring the one and only DivaCup, part of our revamped “DivaCup 101″ page:

Let us know what you think, and feel free to send us your video testimonials!

Sandra was just saying how the term “transportation options” could be humorously misunderstood as being about whether to walk, drive, fly, train or cycle, as opposed to answering the burning question of what to do with your Lunapads and DivaCup when you’re out of the house.  Let me know if you think of a better title, and in the meantime I hope that you enjoy these “expert” tips on managing your natural menstrual products when you’re on the go!

We were really excited when we were contacted by Redbook magazine a few weeks ago.  Were mainstream women’s magazines finally ready for natural menstrual products?  Well, um, sort of.  Turns out that Lunapads weren’t the only period reference in the magazine (not counting the numerous ads for disposable pads and tampons) – check out what they had to say and see what you think…

“Your standard maxi pad might last five hours – but now you can get a pad that’ll last you five years!  The folks at Lunapads want you to add period products to the list of recyclables in your eco-friendly life.  These customizable cloth pads accommodate a wide variety of sizes and flows, and they’re machine-washable.  We’re all for going green, but this idea strikes us a little, um, yucky.”

Speaking of things that are yucky, this seems like a good opportunity to review the environmental impact of disposable pads and tampons.  A recent article by Eunice Wong at Truthdig.com spells it out in graphic detail, but for those who don’t have time to get all the way through it, here are some highlights:

There are 85 million women of menstruating age in North America. Conservative estimates are that the average woman disposes of between 10,000 and 15,000 tampons, pads and applicators in her lifetime. That’s about 250 to 300 pounds of waste per woman.  In the United States and Canada alone, more than 12 billion pads, tampons and applicators are tossed annually. (We typically quote the number as 14 billion, including applicators).

Which brings me to the article on the very next page, a laundry list of Redbook readers’ to-dos for President Obama.  Number 4 on the list is titled “Prioritize our planet’s protection“, saying “It’s time to go very green.  We must care for our world.”  Um, great idea – as long as we don’t have to wash our own menstrual pads, right?

Last but not least, 42 pages later a reader asks for advice on how to get her period-shy boyfriend into bed while she’s bleeding.  Among other options, Redbook’s Love Network expert Lou Paget suggests “point(ing) out that getting it on during your period could make for a new, different kind of fun.  The extra fluid causes more slipperiness that many couples really enjoy.”

Talk about mixed messages.  First we have Lunapads sounding great (until you get to the last line), then a stirring call to eco-arms, topped off with a strongly pro-period message (at least when you’re in the mood).  Hard to know what to make of it all, but at least we’re on the radar!