Lunapads Blog

It’s been a while since our last video, but I think you’ll agree that this one is worth the wait.

Many of you have probably perused our Why Switch? section, which I admit verges on being overly extensive (there are a lot of reasons, after all!)  While the argument will be old news to our existing customers, our latest video is a one minute snappy version for women who have never heard of Lunapads (or even thought of cloth pads).  It’s also an entertaining little kick in the pants (pads?) to those fence-sitters out there, in the hopes that they will be inspired to relinquish their fears and reservations to take the leap to a brighter, more eco-positive menstrual future!

Do you have some girl friends who you’ve been meaning to tell about Lunapads, but didn’t know how?  Here’s the perfect thing to send their way!

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Now, about that Giveaway:
Complete the 3 steps below & you’ll be entered to win 1 of 5 $25 gift certificates for Lunapads.com!

1. Watch the video on our YouTube Channel
2. Use the buttons below the video to Share via Facebook or Twitter, or <Embed> onto your blog or website. Tip: Use #clothpadsftw on Twitter and @Lunapads.com on Facebook.
3. Comment below telling us where you posted our video, including a link, if possible.

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This is also a perfect opportunity to express some gratitude: Nancee, our summer marketing intern, fearlessly piloted this project from start to finish, bringing a happy mix of technical experience, creative insight and patient feedback-taking to the project. Some final visual and musical touches came via our uber-competent webmaster and all-round tech/creative Lunagal Lisa and her trusty accomplices Morgan and Sara. I know that I speak for everyone here when I say: It’s been great having you with us this summer, Nancee. We are totally thrilled with your work - thank you!

Thanks you guys for all your support, we ♥ you!!!  We’ll announce the 5 winners in September’s newsletter. (And if you have any other ideas or suggestions for future videos, please let us know below!)

Last Friday, we were delighted to see the Huffington Post write a story called “How to Green Your Period” describing the many ways to green your period.  (Check out slide number 4 which talks about reusable cloth pads, including Lunapads.)   You can even “vote” for your favorite period product: menstrual cups and cloth pads are ranked #1 and #2 respectively!

Despite the Huffington Post having a progressive following, not long after the post went up, a lot of readers posted comments indicating they were put off by the topic, men and women included.  Many expressed their disgust that the Huffington Post would write about such a “vulgar” topic and why nothing was sacred anymore.  Well, thanks to fans of the DivaCup and Lunapads, there is now a bit more balance in the over 200 comments posted to date.  I particularly like what “kudzumaster” had to say about the negative feedback:

“Would it be better to go back to the days in which women were ashamed about their normal processes, and thus kept ignorant and uninformed? I know they were good times, when teenaged girls got their first period and hid in the bathroom, thinking they were bleeding to death because no one was comfortable enough to discuss menstruation with them, but I think we’re ready to move past that now, aren’t we. Women bleed once a month during their childbearing years. It’s a fact, and nothing to be embarrassed about.”

I can appreciate that people have hang ups about certain topics, but I can never understand why they go on to publicly express those hang ups.  Posting those kinds of comments only shines a light on their degree of ignorance about a topic they can’t seem get their head around.   It’s refreshing to see others chiming in to show a more eco-positive perspective about periods.  Thank you, and if you haven’t commented yet, please do so!

While surfing around the Huffington Post website, I came across a story by writer Deanna Neal called “Make her Vagina Green” packed with interesting projections about the number of bleeding women in the world and how much garbage is produced by disposable feminine hygiene products.  As compelling as those numbers are, Deanna isn’t ready or willing to try reusable products herself, but at least does a good job informing the more ‘mainstream’ reader why she should think about healthier options for her period.  Deanna, if you’re reading this, we’d love to send you some Lunapads and Lunapanties to try out!  Never say never; we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Anyone else out there want to try and convince Deanna to make the switch?

As mentioned in a recent post, Lunapads’ “organic transition” is officially underway. Shaking things up in the fabric department has brought about the opportunity to introduce some other new fabrics, which brings me to our latest addition, 100% organic cotton sateen. Just the sound of the word “sateen” tells you a lot about this fabric - it’s light, smooth and cool to the touch.

The new fabrics have also acted as a catalyst to my designer brain, and I’m thrilled to announce some great new products. We have been making organic flannel handkerchiefs for years, and the sateen lends itself to the same purpose wonderfully, making an already soft and eco-friendly alternative to disposable tissues fabulous to boot! When I was testing the new fabric hankies I found myself collecting them in one of our Luna Pouches in my purse, and decided to make a simplified pouch for the hankies, allowing you to easily stuff clean ones back in the bag post-laundering. Check out our new Hanky Packs, which contain 3 10”x 10” handkerchiefs in a matching pouch (pictured).

I’ve long admired the Japanese tradition of furoshiki, or cloth gift wrapping, and thought that given its light weight, luxurious feel and gorgeous prints, the sateen might also work well for a Lunapads version. To that end, we’ve created 2 versatile sizes of “Lunashiki”: the smaller, 18” square size doubles as a dinner napkin, and a larger, 24” size that also works as a handy bandanna, in additon to being stylish and responsible ways to wrap gifts. These products all make great gifts themselves, and are 10% off this month!

It should go without saying at this point that Lunapads is deeply committed to sustainability, but of course there is always more that we can do. One of our long-held goals in this respect has been to switch our fabrics to being 100% organic. We are thrilled to announce that we are officially on our way!

For a long time we were held back by the limited availability of organic fabrics that were as attractive or as competitively priced as conventionally-grown goods. We are thrilled about how this has changed in the past few years, to the point where our main supplier of conventionally-grown fleece is now switching to all organic.

For a long time we were also afraid of what the transition would look like from a production perspective (ie complicated and expensive!), but have figured out an efficient way to deal with that as well. Basically, we have chucked the notion of worrying about mixing organic and conventional fabrics for the time being, and we think that you will love the results.

Here’s what you can expect: a growing selection of the same beautiful prints and soft fleeces that Lunapads has always been known for, but instead of being forced to choose between organic or regular cotton, you’ll get a mix of both (and for the same price as just regular cotton!) First up is our Heavy Pad & Wing Liner sets in Regular Cotton with a matching Organic Fleece Center Panel & Wing Liner. Watch for more styles coming up in new “hybrid” dropdown menus from the main Pads + Liners and Pantyliners navigation. Enjoy, and stay tuned for even more organic fabric news to come!

I’m thinking that since most of you reading this are more than happy to wash your own menstrual pads, doing things like carrying your own reusable water bottles, coffee mugs and shopping bags are pretty much old hat. I must confess to having a certain weakness for groovy versions of these kinds of items, which brings me to an excellent example of eco-craftiness.

Part of what brings me the greatest pleasure about being a volunteer mentor with the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and the Women’s Enterprise Society of BC is getting to know aspiring entrepreneurs and (hopefully!) being able to have a positive impact on their growth as businesspeople. My recent Peer Mentoring group featured some incredibly creative gals, including Heather Martin of Mono Clothing, Lana Diaz of Staplesonline Silk & Luxuries, Patsy Kay Kolesar of PKK Design Jewelry and Melissa Joaquin of Sugar Cane natural bodycare products. Laura Bucci of Laura Bucci Handmade was also a participant - she has generously offered some of her uber-creative wares for a contest here on our blog.

Laura is a Vancouver-based artist making sustainable and handmade products. One of the things I most admire about her line of bags, teapot and cup cozies and buttons is that in addition to the products themselves, she also designs the fabric. Inspiration for the ‘vintage love’ series came from language learning books of the 1930s. The design resuscitates wonderful illustrations while taking you back to a bygone era. The cup cozy also gives you a chance to learn bicycle parts names in French and English. The snack bag features a retro/modern Japanese design of the much loved Vespa scooter.

Want to own this lovely reusable cup cozy and snack bag? Visit the Laura Bucci Handmade shop and leave a comment below telling us which is your favorite cup cozy. For a second chance to win, become a fan of her Facebook Page and leave another comment here saying you’ve done so. The winner will be announced in our June newsletter - good luck!

When it comes to making powerful personal eco choices, Alicia Silverstone is definitely not Clueless; many of you are probably already familiar with her beautiful and inspiring blog, The Kind Life.

We were thrilled to see this wonderful post yesterday, in which she advocates not only cloth diapering, Lunapads and the DivaCup (“I love me some Lunapads!! I use them whenever I’m at home or just running out for a few hours”, she enthusiastically tells her readers), but also references a guest blog post about alternative diapering I wrote recently for the Green Glamazon Queen herself, Chloe Jo Berman of the Girlie Girl Army.

It’s great to see a celebrity role model promoting meaningful green choices, especially when she’s not being paid for it. Thanks so much Alicia, for sharing your star power to make the world a better place!

Yesterday’s Slate.com “Green Lantern” article questioning the environmental impact of reusable menstrual products begged for more than a brief comment in response. Is making the switch a mere drop in the bucket as far as waste goes, or part of a larger ripple effect?

Fence sitters and skeptics often ask us how green our products really are, along the lines of the so-called diaper “debate”. How green is washing your menstrual pads after all, once you factor in the raw materials, soap, water and energy (not to mention the hassle?) Some prominent green bloggers (including Grist.org’s Umbra Fisk) don’t see the impact of disposable menstrual products as being overly worth fretting about, a position quasi-supported by the Green Lantern herself, Nina Shen Rastogi.

Rastogi starts her post by referencing (from the book Flow) some compelling information about the amount of solid waste generated by disposable pads and tampons (62,415 lbs, or 0.5% of a woman’s gross lifetime landfill contribution) but quickly concludes that there are bigger fish to fry, suggesting that highlighting women’s monthly eco impact may constitute yet another source of shame for women, on top of that typically used to sell the products in the first place - why give women yet another guilt trip?

Rastogi is also quick to dismiss the environmental and health concerns that green feminine hygiene producers often raise about conventional products; namely what the long-term consequences of exposure to dioxin and the host of other chemicals, surfactants, plastics and perfumes that may or may not be present in pads and tampons might be, chlorine bleached or not.

While the US FDA and Health Canada claim that exposure to “trace” amounts of dioxin is safe, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks at the matter differently, asserting that there is no safe or acceptable amount, period.  The bottom line is that nobody actually knows - yet. Having just read this article about the effects of “trace” amounts of hormone disruptors such as phthalites and Bisphenol A, I can’t help wondering how long it might be before we see similar research exposing what many of us have long suspected about dioxin and other chemicals used in the manufacture of disposable pads and tampons.

Rastogi suggests if you are worried about your garbage output, you are better off buying bulk food and planning your grocery shopping to reduce food waste.

Hey, how about this crazy idea: why not do as much as you reasonably can? Why the cop-out on greening your period?

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I feel a bit conflicted about this post, as I am typically a huge fan of women-owned businesses. So what happens when the businesses in question are marketing products that I don’t feel are necessarily in women’s best interests? Let’s talk!

The products in question are basically cosmetics for your vulva - one to make your girlparts “clean, pure, soft and fresh” with the help of a 4-step collection of soap, lotion, spray and wipes, and the other to lighten the color of the outer labia. Leaving questions around the safety and rationale for these products aside for the moment, what’s particularly troubling about these new takes on what the marketers of Lysol and Massengil have schilled in the past is that they have adopted (some might say co-opted) the language of empowerment and enlightenment in order to do so, presenting the case for vulval “freshening up” as a bold act of savvy self-love.

While the cheeky brand name “I Love My Muff” on its own is eerily reminiscent of a Lunapads standby: “I (heart) my period”, who can argue with its wisdom? Ideally women “love” (or are at least at peace with) our muffs, but do we need these products in order to get there? Of course not, and yet ILMM’s copy tells us that “informed” (if only I knew the “truth” about feminine hygiene!) “modern” women are literally clamoring to make this “savvy and empowered” choice.  And how’s this for courageously breaking the taboos that have kept the topic of “feminine care” locked away in the closet? “It’s no longer taboo and with it’s (sic) clean packaging and bold message these products are a statement of confidence and a must have for every woman.”

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When I was much younger (and more foolish!), I used to think that business was a soulless activity that occupied itself exclusively with money, to the exclusion of all other forms of profit.  In many ways, Lunapads’ growth as a business is representative of my own journey in understanding that not only can be business be about way more than financial profit, but that business, like practically anything else, ultimately comes down to being about relationships.

While our recent trip to the Green Festival in San Francisco was planned primarily around attending to receive our Shining Light Award from Green America (thanks again to all our fans and customers who voted for us!), we extended our trip to attend the Green Business Conference.  The conference was a valuable reminder of the importance of establishing and building relationships.

At the conference, the first woman we heard speak was Margot Frasier, founder of Birkenstock USA .  After having met her several years ago, I was thrilled to see her still going strong.  Margo, along with another powerful woman entrepreneur Lisa Lorimer, she has just written Dealing With the Tough Stuff: Practical Wisdom for Running a Values-Driven Business.  Reminder to any friends who happen to read this: my birthday is coming up soon!

My choice of title for this blog post is a play on the name of a wonderful company: Life without Plastic, whose co-founder, Jay Sinha, we had the excellent fortune to meet at the Green Business Conference.  “Plastic-free” is an apt description for Jay on a metaphorical level as well - his authenticity and passion for a cleaner, healthier, more “plastic free” planet are indisputable and contagious.

Jay in turn led us to another anti-plastic superhero, blogger Beth Terry (aka Fake Plastic Fish).  Beth is one of those deceptively humble people who are in fact deeply powerful.  An accomplished activist, she single-handedly created the North American campaign to pressure Brita water filters to start taking back and recycling used filters.  Thank you, Beth, for being a living inspiration for how one person can make a massive difference. Here is a picture of Jay and Beth at the Green Festival.

I was also deeply impressed with Joshua Onysko, founder of Pangea Organics, who gave a rollicking presentation about his entrepreneurial journey: “7 lessons in 7 years.”  His all-organic line of skincare products is amazing, and his success as a leader in a crowded category is a credit to his chutzpah as much as his commitment to “eco-centric” skincare products.

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As some of you may know, in my prior life before Lunapads, I worked in the field of Finance and Accounting, and got a small taste of what shareholder value and corporate profits meant in the mainstream world of finance.  It was my dissatisfaction with the type of work I was doing that prompted me to leave for ‘greener’ pastures, which, coincidentally, coincided with meeting Madeleine!

Over a decade ago, there was a small collection of organizations who promoted the idea of ethical investing and created ethical funds which consisted of companies that had been screened for their ethical business practices.  What emerged was a niche Ethical/Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) category in the financial sector.  However, many of these funds did not attract the interest of mainstream investors because they didn’t perform adequately (because it’s all about maximizing financial returns in their world).

Fortunately, there seems to be a change in the tide of what investors are looking for, which isn’t all that surprising given the financial meltdown in the past year. (How many millions of people have been affected by the financial market collapse and wondered, where, besides our mattresses, should we be putting some of our hard earned dollars?) During these tumultuous times,  it appears that more and more investors are looking for investments that will not only provide a fair return, but do the right thing for people and the planet. (more…)