Here at GladRags we often listen to podcasts as we tirelessly work to provide you the best of service and support.  Some of our favorites come from the How Stuff Works family of podcasts.  They all have the impossible combination of expertise, wit, humor, and chemistry between the two podcasters.  A recent podcast on Stuff Mom Never Told You was titled “Is Menstruation the Last Taboo?”  Look them up on itunes or go to their website to listen. Needless to say, we found something missing from their podcast.  Because they always encourage feedback we sent them this letter:

Hi Cristen and Molly, First of all, we just want to say that we listen to your podcast all the time at work!  We love your fun and in-depth coverage of such a variety of topics — some of our favorites are “The Mysteries of Nancy Drew” and “Are Breast Implants Linked to Suicide.”

We are writing today in regards to your podcast titled “Is Menstruation the Last Taboo?”

We thought it was great and covered a lot of territory, but we were disappointed that you never mentioned alternative menstrual products in your discussion of becoming more comfortable with our menstrual cycles. Alternative menstrual products include things like menstrual cups (DivaCup, Keeper Cup, Moon Cup, etc), cloth pads, and sea sponge tampons. We work at GladRags (http://www.gladrags.com), a company which sells these types of products, so promoting positive attitudes toward menstruation is a subject near and dear to our hearts! Not many women know that there are alternatives to disposable products, but we believe that every woman should have all the information available so that she can make the best choice for her body.  The health benefits notwithstanding — reusables don’t contain bleach or other harmful chemicals and have never been linked to toxic shock syndrome — we find that most women gain a greater understanding of their bodies and a sense of comfort with their menstrual cycle.  In addition, the average woman uses 16,800 pads or tampons in her lifetime — imagine the environmental impact of all that waste! You mentioned that a lot of your fans are interested in hearing about the history of the tampon.  We hope that you will include reusable menstrual products in your podcast, as the tampon as we know it is a relatively recent invention compared to cloth pads and menstrual cups! We plan on sharing your podcast with our customers on our Facebook and blog (http://www.gladrags.com/blog).  Thanks for keeping us informed and entertained while we work! -Alex and Tracy, the girls from GladRags.com

Hopefully they will mention alternative menstrual products on the next podcast they record.  Even if they don’t, you should listen, because they are great!  Did you listen to this podcast?  What did you think?  What podcasts do you subscribe to?  We are always looking for more!

Team GladRags from left to right: Alex, Brenda, and Tracy

Here at GladRags, it’s important to us to be as sustainable as possible.  From the way we package our products to the way we get to the office, we try to make the best choice possible for the environment.  All three of us bike to work fairly routinely, but when we heard about the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge, we were excited to really put ourselves to the test! The challenge is “a friendly competition — workplace against workplace — to see who can bike to work more during the month of September. The workplaces with the highest percentage of commutes by bicycle during the month win!”  There are also weekly drawings for prizes and discounts for bike parts/accessories at local bicycle shops. The Bike Commute Challenge website is really fun and interactive.  Each day you work, you log your mileage on the calendar and your total miles, calories burned, pounds of CO2 saved, and participation rate are automatically calculated.  Check it out: as a team we’ve already cycled over 232 miles!

As of this posting, we’re #1 in our category (Business or Non-Profit with 2-4 employees) with a participation rate of 100%!  While there are no official prizes offered to winning teams by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance — other than glory, of course! — there are plenty of benefits from just participating (better health, a reduced carbon footprint, and the simple joy of just riding a bicycle, to name a few!).

One day last week we all needed to attend a meeting about three miles away, so we hopped on our bikes and headed downtown.  It was a beautiful day and so much fun to ride as a group, plus the midday exercise perked us up.  As soon as we made it back, we all logged on to add the trip to our mileage!

If you’re in Oregon and SW Washington, it’s not too late to join the competition!  You can still sign up and enter your commutes retroactively. The website is also available for bike commuters from outside the area to use, although you won’t be part of the official challenge.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on our progress and hope to see some of you at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s after party on October 8th!

Here at GladRags we love all things sustainable!  This includes bike commuting to work for all of us.  There are more benefits to biking than just sustainable living.  You feel good, spend less money, and get to enjoy the scenery of your town.  And now this!  There was a delightful little add-on to the stimulus bill:  The Bicycle Commuter Tax Provision – a $20 a month tax credit to employees for riding their bike to work!   We GladRags employees love it! See more information here.  The provision was heralded by Portland's very own bike commuting representative Earl Blumenauer.

If you ride to work a substantial amount of days, ask your employer to offer it!

Do you ride your bike to work or around town?  If not, what are your major barriers?  If you do, what do you think is the best part?

September Monthly Friend: Olivia F.

Name: Olivia
Age: 23
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Current location: Pittsburgh, PA
Occupation: Case manager/social work grad student

Interests: Social justice, cooking, gardening, adventures
Dreams: Change daily.  I like being happy and I like living in a way that allows other people to be happy as well.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: Four or five years.
Reason for making the switch to reusables: It seemed environmentally sound and I was sick of having to go to the store monthly to feed large corporations and landfills. And I never found conventional menstrual products very comfortable.  I first started hearing the buzz in a women’s health class and then there was a community stitch ‘n bitch that included someone providing some pointers on making pads. When I was traveling and my period started unexpectedly, I was thrilled to realize that they could also be purchased!

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: When I first made the switch, I was visiting my boyfriend.  I had mentioned to him that I was going to try them and he thought it was a bit odd.  When I got to his apartment for a visit, I put a stack of homemade pads on his bathroom shelf.  We had friends over for his birthday and we had finished a good bit of wine over dinner.  He returned from the bathroom with my brand new pads on his hands, using them as puppets.  Another female guest recognized what they were, and we had a good laugh.