“Experts do recommend checking these products before you use them to make sure that none of them are defective, and always store them in a dry place.”
Related Posts:
Moldy Tampon Turmoil
The Tale of the Moldy Tampon
“Eww”; it’s a reaction we hear a lot from people who are learning about the concept of reusable menstrual products for the first time. Frankly, we aren’t surprised that people are uncomfortable with the idea, given the amount of fear and shame that has followed menstruation around, pretty much since the dawn of humanity. With all the negative advertising used to sell conventional menstrual products, the culture of silence surrounding menstruation, and the apparent lack of interest from the scientific and medical community in regards to menstrual issues, there’s a lot of baggage and misinformation to overcome in order for people to get comfortable with their reproductive systems and their byproducts. I’m frankly encouraged and impressed by the amount of people who DO use reusable menstrual products!
And yet the “Eww” factor always manages to baffle me. We hear it from all kinds of people; tampon users, disposable pad users, cloth diapering moms, feminists, environmentalists, young and old. The reason is always the same, “You want me to wash my pads/cup and use them again!? Isn’t that unsanitary?”
Well guess what, folks? I am here to tell you that the disposable products you may currently be using might not be as “sanitary” as you think.
Lunapads fans, I’d like to ask you a question! How long did you use disposables before making the switch to cloth? Did you notice a change in the way you felt during your period when you stopped using disposable pads or tampons?
My cramps have practically disappeared since I started using Lunapads. Weird, but totally cool and definitely welcome. I can’t say for certain what caused this change, but I am loving it. Has anyone else experienced changes like this? Is anyone aware of any scientific studies about the chemicals in disposable menstrual products and their effect on cramps, bloating, and other PMS symptoms?
On Thursday, March 8th, Lunapads will be participating in the Blog for International Women’s Day event co-hosted by Gender Across Borders and CARE.
This year’s theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures. We will be writing about our Pads4Girls program, with a strong focus on the organizations we partner with and the differences they are making in the communities they serve.
Other writers, bloggers and humanitarian organizations are also encouraged to participate by addressing one or both of the following points on their blog or website:
Anyone interested can find more information and add themselves to the list of participants here: http://genderacrossborders.
You can also participate in Blog for International Women’s Day on your social media outlets on Thursday, March 8. On Facebook, tag your responses with the Gender Across Borders Facebook page. On Twitter, you can use the hashtag #blogforiwd so we can all read your responses.
On Wednesday, March 7, Gender Across Borders will co-host She Party, a weekly virtual happy hour hosted by the Women’s Media Center. From 3-5pm EST, we will discuss the theme of “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.” Log on to Twitter and search the #sheparty hashtag to join the conversation.
I had always planned on having kids and feel very blessed to have 2 wonderful boys. As much as I would have loved to share the whole ‘first period experience’ with a daughter, I’ve had the period conversation with my boys. I mean, how could it not come up given both boys came to work with me when they were young, Lunapads are in my bathroom, and Lunapads is where Mum goes to work everyday? Here is a short video on my thoughts on being a working mom and why I think it is important for boys to grow into men who have a healthy respect for girls, women, and their bodies.
My thanks to the cameos in this video of Warren Te Brugge from My Arms Wide Open. Not only is he an advocate for girls and women in South Africa, he is an amazing role model to boys and men. By involving boys in his work to promote Pads4Girls (read about it here: “Education Equity: enabling girls to stay in school”) boys are not only gaining a better appreciation for the challenges girls face each month, but actively working with him to help find the girls who most need menstrual supplies. Look forward to a blog post and video from Warren very soon.
Please share with me your thoughts on being a mom to boys or why boys and men need to be part of the menstruation conversation! I’d love to hear from you!
Check out Queen of Green (@davidsuzukiqog on Twitter)’s interview with Madeleine about having a “greener” period, thanks to Lunapads and The DivaCup. Post a comment on Queen of Green’s Blog to enter to win 1 DivaCup Kit with Mini Pantyliners. Thanks so much for spreading the love, Lindsey!
David Suzuki’s Queen of Green, Lindsay Coulter, answers your green living questions and offers tips and recipes to make your life easier on the environment. It’s all about green living made easy. Subscribe to the Queen of Green digest for the latest in eco-conscious living, delivered to your inbox once monthly.
As regular readers will be aware, over the past decade Lunapads has been developing the Pads4Girls program to bring reusable feminine hygiene supply kits to thousands of girls and women in need in over 15 countries. Pads4Girls seeks to address an often-overlooked problem that hundreds of millions of girls and women in developing nations face: missing school or work for several days every month because they lack adequate menstrual hygiene supplies. You can learn more about the issue and its impact on our site here, and in the Pads4Girls section of our blog.
Trying to determine how to make a bigger impact with Pads4Girls from a distance only goes so far, and we feel called to learn more and go deeper. In January 2012 Suzanne and I will be traveling to Uganda with Shanti Uganda, a Vancouver-based charity that improves infant and maternal health, provides safe women-centered care and supports the well-being of birthing mothers and women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
We are appealing to the Lunapads community to raise funds to enroll 300 teenage girls in Shanti Uganda’s At Risk Girls Program, a health and wellness program focused on inspiring futures for girls and teen mothers in Kasana Town Uganda. As part of the workshop, each girl will receive AFRIpads (Ugandan-made cloth pads based on Lunapads, see below for more information about them) and a health education manual.
Hi everybody, Lisa here! Our most recent guest post from Samson (read here) motivated me to finally share some of my own thoughts and an explanation / followup to the note on gender that I added to our website recently.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the note:
Lunapads users and community members are cisgender, transgender and genderqueer individuals who span the gender spectrum. Cisgender / AFAB (assigned female at birth) women comprise the majority of our customer base. However, we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming space for all those seeking eco friendly solutions to their everyday and monthly needs.
Being mindful of essentialist & exclusionary comments made about periods and bodies – and the real & lasting impact those words and assumptions have – is important to me, both in and outside of my work here at Lunapads. Avoiding framing conversations in ways that make others feel unrecognized or overlooked matters to me, to my community, to my family, and to many of our customers. I hope we can also move beyond simply being “neutral” to talking about periods in ways that are actually inclusive of all those who experience them. I care about what we say and how we say it because I believe that exclusion in language equals exclusion in practice.
In understanding and acknowledging that each individual’s experience is far more complex and varied than traditional gender constructs would have us believe, I think we can find new, meaningful ways to relate to and support each other — strengthening our communities and expanding the narrow confines of who’s given access to improved health, comfort and support in relation to their own menstrual cycles and bodies.
My hope is that we will continue to listen and work on maintaining a space within the Lunapads community for those who menstruate and feel unrepresented or overlooked in conversations about menstruation. While most women menstruate at some point in their lives, the ways in which those cycles are experienced varies so widely depending on a number of factors. Furthermore, having a period is not something exclusive to those who are women — nor do all women menstruate or share the same feelings about their bodies, fertility, sexuality, and so on.
A Juicy Life Giveaway
Like A Juicy Life on Facebook + let us know in a comment below and you’ll be eligible to win a free 1hr Private Session with Jane in her North Vancouver Office!
What do you do if you find yourself in a loving relationship with someone and you experience challenges? Maybe you think you are the only one struggling with these issues, and don’t know what to do or where to turn. I had the fantastic opportunity recently to speak with Jane Langton of A Juicy Life. Jane had an interest in Lunapads and is now showing them off, shouting out to others about washable options for menstrual care! Jane was also kind enough to do an interview with me and share some tips.
What is your role as a sexual health educator and what are your qualifications?
My goal is to educate women and men, especially those in the boomer years, so they can make informed choices about pleasure and especially safer sex. I have a background in healthcare – and in addition to that, I returned to school and completed Clinical Hypnotherapy at Coastal Academy and then went on to specialize in sexual health and completed the Certified Sexual Health Education program offered at Options For Sexual Health. The program is the only one of its kind offered in Canada. I am a graduate of one of its first classes.
Tell me about A Juicy Life!
I have always been comfortable talking about sexual health and have been in some capacity for at least 25 years.
What is your trusted go-to source for information about sexual health or environmentally friendly and body safe sex toys?
Let us know in a comment below, and you could win a bottle of Hathor Pure Lubricant! You can respond anonymously if you prefer, just be sure to fill out the email box (only visible to us / not shared publicly) so we can contact you if you win. Thanks everyone, and good luck!
| THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING! |
Flickr photo by carbonnyc
As many of you know, Lunapads manufactures and sells beautiful, washable cloth menstrual pads, pantyliners and underwear. We do this because we believe that using natural, reusable menstrual products is a creative and empowering way to honor and care for ourselves and the earth. Our mission is to help individuals have more positive experiences of their menstrual cycles, and by extension, their bodies overall.
For Madeleine, making the switch from tampons to cloth pads brought her the unexpected benefit of discovering a deeper connection with her body. Click here to listen to her conversation with Jamye Waxman about the connection for her between period positivity and pleasure.
Lots of our customers tell us that they have had a similar experience, and that using Lunapads led them to a new found appreciation for their bodies; not just during their periods, but all throughout their cycles and every day of the month. For some of us, using sex toys is another one of the many creative and celebratory ways we can nurture the relationships we have with our bodies. Of course, being the eco and body friendly folks that we are, we want to be knowledgeable about the products we use and the effect they have on our bodies and earth.
Unfortunately, sex toys are often comprised of a mystery-mix of chemicals and other ingredients not disclosed by their manufacturers. In addition, because sex toys are classified as novelty items, they’re not regulated by the FDA or held to the same stringent health and safety checks that medical devices are. So, how do you choose a toy that is good for your health, and the health of the planet? Here’s some info about the different materials and options available.
