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Last week, we were delighted to learn that our very own Lunapads Maxi Pad was picked by Grist among it’s review of eco-minded feminine products. Of course being picked is a bonus, but to us, it was great to see that Grist chose to cover the topic at all. Grist does environmental journalism with “news about green issues and sustainable living”. Grist strives to “to tell the untold stories, spotlight trends before they become trendy, and engage the apathetic.” Kind of like treehugger.com, but more light-hearted. Sarah Van Schagan covered the topic nicely, and will be doing a follow up story about tampon alternatives like the Diva Cup this week, so stay tuned!

However, one of their columnists, Umbra Fisk, gets me going every time she takes a “lite-green” stance on subjects near and dear to my heart. In her post in 2003 called “menstruation innovation“, prior to weighing in about natural alternatives like cloth pads and menstrual cups, she prefaces her comments by saying: “What we have here are small, popular disposable products, and generally speaking, the environmental impact of small objects is not worth fretting over.. Even if you do want to reduce your contribution to this minor environmental woe, there is a shortage of options in the moon-mama market.”

Excuse me? Not worth fretting over? Minor environmental woe? Is 14 billion pads, tampons and applicators going into North American landfills every year minor? That’s like saying that we shouldn’t worry about buying bottled water and switching to cloth shopping bags because, individually, we can’t make a difference. OK, maybe things have changed in the past 5 years and Umbra has seen the light. Nope. Last week, Umbra decided to weigh in on the cloth versus disposable diaper debate in her post called “Much a Poo About Nothing”. Well, we’ve posted about this issue before and know it isn’t easy always being green.

Using a cute but rather silly video, Umbra over simplifies the issue and completely missses the boat.

Not only do I disagree with her assessment (by lazily using a flawed 2005 study from the UK that has since been revised to state the opposite) that cloth and disposables are an environmental wash, but she doesn’t address the health impact of using disposables. Most disposable diapers use super absorbent polymers that can be harmful to babies (especially boys). Disposable diapers are made with pulp from virgin forests and laden with plastic that sit in landfills for 500 years. Yes, cloth diapers use water and energy to manufacture and clean, but water is a renewable resource and today’s high efficiency washers and dryers make a huge difference too. Her conclusion that it is a wash and not worth fretting over allows the apathetic to remain apathetic, which goes against the Grist mandate to engage the apathetic.Why do I care so much? Well, not only did I use (new and hand me down) cloth diapers on both my babies (and some elimination communication when ever possible) but it is obvious to me that this debate works equally well for the cloth vs disposable menstrual products debate. (ie: pad/tampon disposables are made from pulp, use chlorine bleach and leach dioxins in tampons, contain harmful chemicals and gels to make them more absorbent, etc.!)

If you care to weigh in, please do so here. Better yet, set up an account with Grist and tell Umbra what you think by commenting on her post!�

It’s been a few weeks since we started selling our new Luna Pouches and Pochettes, but we are having so much fun with them that I thought it was worth a post.

A bit of background first: naturally, one of the biggest questions that women have about using Lunapads and the Diva Cup is what to do with them when you’re out of the house or traveling. Luna Pouches and Pochettes (as well as the more elaborate Moon Pad Bags) are all answers to this question.

Another question we have always faced at Lunapads is what to do with the small pieces of fabric left over from making Lunapads. Turns out that we are feeding multiple birds with one seed in this case, which feels great!

Pochettes are the same size as DivaCup pouches, and can hold an extra liner or 2, a teeny pantyliner or of course your DivaCup. Luna Pouches are a bit bigger so can hold, for example, a DivaCup and pantyliner, or even a spare Maxi Pad. They have the added feature of a waterproof nylon lining.

I’ve just realized that my Luna Pouch is also a perfect size for my new Blackberry, so these things are seriously multi-purpose ;-) Not to mention, how cute are they? Forget being embarrassed about toting your supplies to the bathroom with you – other people will be jealous you have such an adorable Lunapad/DivaCup/Blackberry holder! As a reminder: until the end of October, receive a FREE Pochette with every DivaCup Kit, and a FREE Luna Pouch with every Lunapads Kit!

Hi LunaLadies,

I just received my very first ever order of Lunapads today, and was excited beyond repair to actually open the package and feel them. They are rather elegant in their black and pansy colour combo, and I am wondering if they will double as serviettes at my next dinner party.

Pretty much ever since I started menstruating, I felt gross and inconvenienced by my period. Not being introduced to any part of it directly by my mother probably had something to do with that! I was never a ‘regular’ person and began to dread my period. At some point, it decided to only come three times a year, and I was fine with that. Especially, since it saved on tampons and pads, and that feeling of feeling gross.

After my second child, I got my first period 18 months after she was born. I had bought a Diva Cup from a health food store in town, and had quite the time adjusting to my first period post-partum and the Cup. But, despite the slight awkwardness, I realized that my period wasn’t actually as gross as I had thought!!

Upon first inspection of the marvelous, rich fluid beheld in the Cup, I realized, all along, it was the dreadful ‘feminine hygiene products’ that made me and my period smell nasty!! What a revelation!! I berated myself for not changing over sooner, as for years, I knew of the badness of pads and tampons.

Soon, the Cup and I became One. I would usually forget it was there, unless I felt that little ‘pop’ that goes with the suction breaking due to too much fluid. Even with the unpredictability of some periods, I became more in tune with when I needed to change it. Never mind the few times when I’d drop it and could make Jackson Pollock green with envy.

I’ve been Diva-ing for nearly 4 years now. The Diva Cup has made me love my period! I respect it, awe at it, marvel at it, and think it’s really gosh-darn special. Thanks for making that happen!!

I look forward to taking it to the next level with the Lunapads (For no good reason, I just couldn’t quite get around to not using the natural-organic pads for back-up, or when things were starting or tapering off). I am sorry to the environment for all the years of trashing it with my menstrual murder.

Thanks for all your hard work, and for offering an alternative. I will be excited and glad when my daughters come into their menstrual years, and I can share with them the best way to appreciate their periods, and hopefully maintain and nurture respect for their bodies, as well.

Viva la Luna!

Christine

I’ve been using Lunapads and the Diva Cup for just under three years now. They’ve become an integral part of my life and while I appreciate their convenience, their comfort and their healthiness (for me and the planet) each month, I didn’t really think I had a story to tell; until today that is.

A little background about me:I live with my boyfriend of just over three years in a little apartment near West Virginia University (we’re both graduate students in physics). Between the grueling and hectic schedule of being a graduate student, as well as the long duration of many lecture classes (and lab sessions), I would be in for some real embarrassment about once every month on the first day of my cycle if I were still using disposable products. I remember some very unhappy moments (before I’d discovered Lunapads and the Diva Cup) as an undergrad where I had to choose between walking out of a lecture because I was leaking around my tampon and ill-situated (and very crinkly) pad, or waiting until class was over and then rushing to the restroom hoping that the bloodstains hadn’t gotten too far out of control. Thanks especially to my DivaCup, I have never had to worry about being “well prepared enough” to get through the first day of my cycle and keep up with my graduate requirements. And this is where my story really starts.

I was fortunate enough to secure a summer research internship with a company in San Diego (a city which is, by the way, much more spread-out than I was aware of). I arrived Monday evening, moved into my sublet (with two generally quite, nearly-never-home male UCSD students), and started working Tuesday morning. Since I don’t have a car here, my supervisor arranged for me to borrow a bicycle, which I took possession of on Friday. I decided it would be an excellent idea for me to bike my chosen route to work to make sure I knew the way and that I could survive it (four miles by bicycle in San Diego is quite an undertaking for me, since I’m a little out of shape and haven’t been on a bicycle at all in over a year). Saturday was taken up with grocery shopping, laundry, and the like; which left Sunday (today) for my first long bike ride.Thanks to the Cycle Chart I have been keeping the past few months, I knew I would be starting last night or this morning and so I put in my DivaCup before going to bed to ensure there would be no rushing to the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning, trying to avoid stains on the carpet. Sure enough, my cycle started right on time and, between my DivaCup and Lunapanties, I had no qualms about spending the morning biking around and through the UCSD campus.I set out around 9:30 (breakfast and double-checking the route took a bit longer than I’d planned) and was on my way. I’m happy to say that I did survive the whole trek, going a bit farther than my minimum goal of four miles total (to make sure I’d be able to make it all the way to work tomorrow morning; I wasn’t quite ready for an eight-mile round-trip today) and arrived home in good spirits. To my extreme delight, there was not a hint of spotting in my Lunapanties and, since Lunapanties are all soft and fleecey, there was no insanely uncomfortable sweaty wetness like I remember from when I used disposable pads. I can’t even imagine how miserable I would have been had I attempted a 4+ mile, hot, sun-drenched bike ride with a disposable pad heavy enough to handle my first day. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been riding a bike at all if I weren’t using my DivaCup, due to the very real possibility of bleeding through and the intense discomfort of trying to manage such an adventure with a wet, sweaty pad refusing to stay where I wanted it.

So, in the end, what I actually realized today was that my DivaCup (and Lunapads) literally makes it possible for me to live my life and do my job; my DivaCup makes science possible and I absolutely love it!

–Stephanie of Morgantown, WV
(currently in San Diego, CA)

We love the Diva Cup here at Lunapads, and are pretty sure that you will too, if you’re not a fan already! May is “officially” (as official as anything gets around here, that is) Diva Cup month and we’ve got some fun specials and contests to celebrate. For a quickie review of the hows and whys of Divadom, check out our Diva Cup 101 Guide.

First, all Diva Cup and Diva Cup Kit purchases this month will receive one of our beautiful new Cycle Charts as a bonus gift with purchase. DivaWash is also 10% off.

For seasoned Diva Cup users we are having a blog contest: tell us how the Diva Cup has changed your relationship with your period or your your life. Humorous stories are more than welcome (Diva Cups have been mistaken for everything from measuring cups to cat toys!) Include a photo and your odds of winning increase. We’ll choose our 3 favorite submissions and send the bloggers each a bottle of DivaWash as a gift. Send your submission by May 31, 2008 to blog@lunapads.com.

We encourage Diva Cup newcomers to join Crunchy Chicken (Goods4Girls founder Deanna Duke)’s DivaCup Challenge, where they can share their adventure with a group of other new Divas. We love Crunchy’s almost-daily eco-lifestyle reports, and recommend checking out the blog whether you’re in the Diva Cup Challenge or not.