Lunapads Blog

The clock is ticking and the countdown is on for Lunapads’ owners Madeleine and Suzanne to wing their way over to Uganda as part of Shanti Uganda’s Yoga & Seva Journey. As part of their contribution, we are raising 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) and a health education manual.

Thanks to generous donations from our customers and friends we have raised enough so far to sponsor 124 girls to attend. We’re almost half way there but we need your help to get us to our goal!  For only $15 you can sponsor a girl to attend the workshop where she will receive life altering health education and washable menstrual products that will last her years and ensure that she can get the most out of her education. In case your not already aware of the immense impact that getting an education can have for a girl (not to mention her family and her entire country) in the developing world, check out this wicked video from The Girl Effect.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY:

Now, thanks to our generous sponsors DivaCup International your donation of $15 or more will enter you in a contest to win 1 of 5 DivaCup menstrual cups!

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

Stephanie’s LunaRevolution Video
Watch More LunaRevolution Videos >>
I recently went on a week-long hiking/backpacking trip to the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming and my period came the first day we were on the trail.  While I wouldn’t say it was entirely pleasant to be doing business in the woods during the peak of mosquito season, having a DivaCup and Lunapanties (along with a pStyle) was the best thing I could ask for.

With all the sweating and walking (the longest day was nine miles, which was also my day of heaviest bleeding), I’m sure I would have been chafed and in pain if I were still using disposables (not to mention probably picking up a pretty bad yeast infection from the lack of breathability).

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

To say that we were blown away by the response to our LunaRevolution Video Festival & Contest is a seismic understatement – it was literally one “WOW” after another at yesterday’s staff viewing. Thank you so much to all of you who participated; we are deeply honored by your efforts.

The overall experience has been more complex than “WOW” suggests, however, and I want to address that it was not as easy as sitting down with a bowl of popcorn and basking in the Luna-love. I cannot go any further without first acknowledging the efforts of Nancee, our Video Intern (here for her second summer, woot!) and our IT wonder Lisa. Nancee is a fabulous tech-geek workaholic super-smart/nice person who is constantly seeking more ways to be helpful (if you can’t think of them, she will!) and then executing them with dizzying speed and efficiency. With equal dedication the perennially brilliant Lisa waded through the maze of technical issues with her consistently calm and sensible demeanor.

Clever Lunagals and all, were there flaws? Oh yeah! We have not had a video contest in years, and naturally technology has advanced a notch or two. We decided to go with a Facebook application called Wildfire, which involved a bit of a learning curve and proved to have its shortcomings. Thank you to all of you who were smart enough to point out the not-totally-clear bits and have been patient enough to bear with us while we worked it out.

We received 21 (TWENTY ONE!!!) submissions, which we considered to be totally amazing. Twenty-one Lunagals felt inspired enough to take the time to tell us how our products have changed your lives: how incredible is that?!?

It was a massive challenge to choose the top picks, and if we have any regrets it’s that we didn’t create more categories and/or Honorable Mention spots in the first place (it would have looked pretty silly if we had created a dozen categories and only had three submissions, for example). Finally, we didn’t all agree about, for example, what made a video particularly “creative”, and so I want to highlight what we felt was uniquely awesome about the videos that may not have fit into a particular category.

Our 5 Honorable Mention Prizes:
another drum roll, please…

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

Struggling to learn how to use the DivaCup? Hang in there and keep trying. Its all perfectly normal! In the mean time, read how our guest blogger Avigayil finally got past this eco-positive learning curve.

So I wasn’t exactly stranded, but New Zealand is certainly an island (two islands, to be exact) and it is very tropical. I was there for my belated honeymoon, nearly a year in the waiting. I am a new wife, a full time student, part time writer for The Bargain Moose, and a part time caregiver for an adult lady in a wheelchair. This trip was well deserved!

While in the packing stages of the trip I knew that from counting my birth control pills, my period would come smack dab in the middle of my honeymoon. We were going to be staying in little vacation houses and I had no idea as to access to laundry facilities so I decided to forgo the usual Lunapanties and Pads: instead opting to throw the Divacup into my bag.

The Divacup and I have had an unkind history: I wanted to love it and it hated me. It popped open before I insert, it hurt going in, and it hurt coming out. Lets just say I ignored my past history when I made my ‘crash course in using a Divacup’ decision. I was determined to learn how to use it. VERY determined. At home I could cheat and if it hurt, switch over to the pads: but not this time… I was stranded!

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

Name: Laura

Age: 28

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?
Eco Friendly Website

Please describe your monthly needs:
2 days and nights light flow, 2 days and nights heavy flow and 1 day and night spotting.

What reusable menstrual products do you currently use?
Lunapads- long pads, liners, and panty liner.

Why do you want to switch to reusable menstrual products?
I switched because I didn’t like the number of pads I was using. I calculated over 4,000 pads by the time I am 35!!!

Anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I love to cook, I love to sing and going green!

Based on your own experience, what message do you have for other women who might be thinking about reusable menstrual products?
It’s much more comfortable then wearing plastic!!!

Our recommendations for this musical cook!

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

With Madeleine and Suzanne’s trip to Portland this week for the World Domination Summit, travel and adventure are naturally on our minds. We have been meaning to write an updated post about the whats, hows and benefits of traveling with our products (see previous posts here and here), and this seems like a great opportunity to do just that.

Who wants to waste valuable luggage space on boxes of disposable pads and tampons, or risk running out where supplies may not be available? Read on for our top tips for easy, waste-free ways to manage your period while traveling, with bonus video  from Suzanne about how to clean your DivaCup while you’re on the road.

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

We often get asked what the difference is between The DivaCup and tampons. As is the case with disposable pads and Lunapads, it really is a bit of an apples and oranges situation, however this video answers some important questions about differences in size and respective amounts of waste generated.

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

Name: Avigayil

What is your age? 24

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?

Lunapads.

Please describe your monthly needs:

Unpredictable. Usually my period starts early, despite being on birth control, and it starts with shedding which is so annoying. That can go on for 2 days. Other times it just starts heavy for 2 days, then light for the rest. I have severe cramps the first 3 days, and I toss and turn all night.. sleep, whats that?

If you are currently using disposable products, which ones do you use, and for what needs?

I currently only use disposable products for swimming. I really hate staying out of the pool when I have my period, and tampons just work for that. However, I haven’t done that for 4 months now. . . I just hate the waste and worry about what they do to my body!

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to share this great testimonial sent in to us from Barb B. in Wisconsin. I hope Barb’s story inspires those who feel discouraged by not having immediate success with The DivaCup.

Figuring out how to successfully use a menstrual cup takes time, patience and gentle perseverance – not getting it right away is not unusual, and certainly nothing to beat yourself up over. Sometimes what stands in the way is simply a matter of technique; other times it’s deeper or more complex. Let’s talk about it!

* What advice or words of encouragement do you have for those new to using a menstrual cup? Read Barb’s testimonial after the jump, and share your tips in a comment below! *

(more…)

Share and Enjoy

1. If you’re using applicator-less tampons already, you’re a prime candidate for The DivaCup. You already have the self-knowledge and are comfortable enough with your body to insert something manually. For most menstrual cup users, that’s half the battle right there!
2. If you prefer o.b. because there’s no applicator and hence less waste, consider this: approximately 20 billion pads, tampons and applicators are sent to North American landfills annually! The average menstruating North American will throw away 125-150kg or 16,800 disposable pads or tampons in their lifetime. With the DivaCup there is no waste! You can reuse the same menstrual cup for years with proper care.
3. It’s non-absorbent, which means it won’t dry you out. Tampons absorb the protective fluid produced in the vagina and can disrupt its normal acidic environment — which can potentially lead to all sorts of problems.
4. The DivaCup is made from top quality, healthcare grade silicone, which is phthalate-free, latex-free, plastic-free and BPA-free. Do you know what’s in your tampon? http://safecosmetics.org/downloads/FemCare_fs_022411.pdf
5. With the DivaCup, you will never run out of menstrual supplies. You’ll have the only item you need and it will last at least a year. Aside from saving you a ton of money, you’ll never have to go on late-night drugstore runs or canvass your coworkers for a spare pad or tampon.
6. The DivaCup is great for those with heavy flow.  It can hold a full ounce, which is about twice as much as the highest absorbency o.b. (the now discontinued o.b. ultra tampons)  so not only will you be able to go longer between changes, you won’t have to worry about sudden leaks!
7. It works for all flows, from light to very heavy. The DivaCup cup can be safety left in for up to 12 hours, whereas tampons must be changed every 4-6 hours to avoid the risk of TSS.
8. You’ll never be at the whim of mysterious corporate “manufacturing delays” and empty shelves again. The DivaCup is available at many retail locations and all over the internet. Once you buy it you won’t have to depend on anyone but yourself to have adequate menstrual protection.

Are you convinced yet? The DivaCup is available on Lunapads.com and at many natural health retailers. Plus, get $5 off the DivaCup on Lunapads.com with coupon code: OBWTF

Share and Enjoy