Have you seen our adorable new Carry Bags?  Made exclusively for GladRags by Queen Bee Creations, these hip zippered pouches won’t be available anywhere else.  But we can’t decide what to call each style — each design is just too cute for a boring name!

We’ll be giving away two bags (one of the black design and one of the green) to the commenters who suggest our favorite names for each.  Feel free to enter more than one name for each design; come up with the best names and you could win them both!

To enter the contest, leave a comment by 5/9 on this post with your name ideas.  Please indicate which design (green/black) corresponds to which name.  And include your email address when you comment so we can get in touch if you win!

May Monthly Friend: Sarah Fauber

Name: Sarah Fauber
Age: 31
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Current location: Louisville, Kentucky
Occupation: Self-proclaimed Jane of all Trades: nutrition and supplement specialist, childcare and pet-care provider, jewelry designer, soon-to-be self-published cookbook author, and seamstress.

Interests: Bicycling, party and small event coordinating and participating, VH1 “reality” TV shows, cooking and food research, reading.
Dreams: I have always wanted to own my own shop. It would be a place that could incorporate all the things I love to make and do and share with people. GladRags would definitely be available at my store.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 8 years
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I made the switch after 3 years of hesitation. Primarily I was looking for an alternative to tampons that would alleviate vaginal dryness, be cost-effective, and not contribute to waste in the environment. It took a couple of months to get used to The Keeper menstrual cup but then I was so happy with it I bought one for a friend and she’s been using it for the last 7 years. I am continually enthusiastic about other benefits such as the reduced risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome, not having to remove my menstrual cup when I urinate, never having to worry about packing tampons with me because when I need it my menstrual cup is already on my person. And I love reusable pads as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to my menstrual cup or just as added protection. I’m always informing women I know or meet about reusables.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: For years I’ve had bouts of Menorrhagia, excessive menstrual bleeding. Sometimes my periods would be so heavy I would have to use two super-plus tampons and an overnight pad just to make it 3 hours. Occasionally my periods would last for over a month. The first time I was diagnosed with Menorrhagia I had never heard of a menstrual cup but wished something like it existed. The third and last bought of menorrhagia occured about 7 years ago and having my menstrual cup made going through it so much easier. During this time I finally correlated weight gain and consumption of hormone enhanced dairy with my bouts of Menorrhagia. After weight loss and a switch to organic, r-BGH free dairy it has never returned. It would be an amazing opportunity for women to be consulted about menstrual alternatives at their gynecological check-ups. And I’ve often wondered what possibilities would occur if GladRags menstrual alternatives could be a part of sexual education for young women. Here’s a funny little anecdote about a time at work when I was informing a female co-worker about menstrual cups she exclaimed “that sounds right up my alley,” and I replied “literally.”

 When birthdays and holidays roll around, it’s all too easy to splurge on all kinds of expensive, brand-new goodies for our friends and family.  Somehow, in all the excitement we can forget to shop consciously.

And the silly thing is, we do all this because we want our friends and family members to know how much we love them!  But there are plenty of other ways to show we care that are better for the earth — and our budgets.

Your Green Goal this week?  Give consciously, not extravagantly, with these easy tips:

• Try making something meaningful!  If you don’t consider yourself an artist or crafter, don’t despair.  Framed photographs and mix CDs can make great personalized presents.  When I was little, my mom would leave me poems on holidays — I remember them far better than any gift I ever received!

• Give activities!  Does your friend really need more stuff?  Most people I know feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of “stuff” in their lives.  Instead of the latest gadget, why not give tickets to a concert, make a delicious dinner, or head out for a hike together?  Memories last far longer and take up way less space than “stuff” will!

• Think about it!  Before you buy, ask: is this something my friend will enjoy for a long time?  If you can see it getting broken or given away in the near future, choose something else!

• Shop vintage!  Some people equate thrift stores with junk, but there are so many inexpensive treasures to be found — and part of the fun is the search.  Plus, you won’t be contributing to increased production and shipment of new products.

• Skip the wrapping paper!  With reusable options like cloth gift bags, why choose to add more waste to the world with single-use wrapping paper?  And to help you with your Green Goal this week, we’re sharing a coupon for 20% off our reusable Gift Bags in Floral and Pizzaz  — so there’s no excuse for wrapping with paper!  Just enter coupon code MAMAMIA (valid through 5/9) when at checkout to get your discount!

What’s your favorite green gift idea?  Let us know in the comments!

We have a short and sweet Menstrual Monday today.  Enjoy!

• The SF Weekly Heartless Doll brings us a helpful public service announcement with Dudes of the World: Menstruation Does Not Make Women Insane.
• A Columbus radio station brings us 5 Fab Essential Earth Day Accessories including the menstrual cup!  See picture to the right for another fab accessory.

Also, we would like to thank everyone who has donated pads to Beth’s Girls so far.  We already have almost 100 pads to give to girls in need in Zambia!  But we always need more.  Read about why you should donate here.

We know the GladRags community does much more than use alternative menstrual products.  As a group we are doing so many things to keep our planet green, from carpooling and composting to gardening and going organic!  So thank you, for everything you do to keep our planet green and beautiful!

This Earth Day, we hope you’ll help us on a new mission: providing cloth pads to girls in Africa through the Elizabeth Bowers Zambian Education Fund (EBZEF), an organization which strives to help Zambian girls stay in school and achieve their dreams.  The recipients of EBZEF’s scholarship assistance call themselves “Beth’s Girls” and have many hopes for the future — and the confidence that they will make their visions come true!

Many of us know already that when girls lack adequate menstrual supplies, they are often unable to complete their educations.  But there’s more to the story: when disposable products are donated to these girls in need, their disposal can be problematic for the local waste system.  For example, in northern Zambia garbage is piled up and periodically burned.  If every woman in the area was contributing their used menstrual supplies, imagine the sudden swell in garbage!

Not to mention the fact that the donation of disposables requires ongoing shipments of new products; with the donation of cloth pads instead, once a girl has enough cloth pads for her cycle, she won’t need to rely on outside donors every month.

GladRags is so excited to be working with EBZEF, and hope you will help a girl in Zambia follow her dreams by clicking here to learn more about how to donate cloth pads.  Forty GladRags Day Pads  have already been donated to Beth’s Girls by caring members of our community — we hope you will join them in their generosity!

When I think of house plants, I immediately think of Jon Arbuckle tirelessly watering and talking to his ferns, trying to get them to grow.  Of course, he was always thwarted in his attempts.  But maybe Jon had the right idea…

In a 1980s study conducted by NASA (yes, NASA! They were looking for ways to keep air inside orbiting space stations clean), researchers found that common house plants can help purify the air inside buildings by filtering chemicals like trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde from the air.

While there’s currently some disagreement over whether or not house plants can actually improve indoor air quality, I’m inclined to believe that having plants in your living space provides some kind of benefit — whether through improved air quality or just through improved mood.  And who can deny that a thriving plant makes a room look so much more inviting?

Your Green Goal this week?  Head to the nursery and pick out a plant!  Here are a few of our top picks for easy to care for house plants (unless you live with Garfield, that is):

• Heart Leaf Philodendron
• Chinese Evergreen
• Warnecki
• Dracaena
• Golden Pothos
• Mother-in-law’s Tongue / Snake Plant
• Spider Plant
• Aloe

Of course, if you have kids or pets, please take extra care in picking out plants as some can be toxic if eaten!

I’ll admit: if I’m rushing to grab a coffee, I almost never remember to bring a reusable cup with me.  I end up having to toss my paper cup in the trash, and my latte never tastes as good — what is it with disposable cups that just makes hot drinks taste funky?

Fortunately, with a few simple changes, you can practically eliminate the last-minute-coffee-dash from your life!  I now only toss a few paper cups per year — usually in the airport terminal waiting for an early morning flight — and all without any reduction in my coffee habit.*

If you can, have coffee at work instead of picking up it up on the way.  You’ll eliminate the need for a paper cup and have one less stop during your commute.  If your workplace won’t allow a coffeemaker, try having your morning cup at home or bringing it with you in a thermos or to-go coffee mug.

But think about this: what did people do before disposable coffee cups? They went to cafes with friends and sat down.  When did our lifestyles become to-go only?  The Slow Food Movement is one of many groups that encourages people to savor and “know” their food by combining pleasure and responsibility.  For this week’s Green Goal, try making a slow-coffee date with a friend, family member, or even just yourself and a good book!  Take time to sit in a coffee shop or at home, slowly enjoying your coffee — no rushing allowed.

Too busy?  Two of my friends frequently have early morning coffee dates, where they wake up early to meet at a nearby shop shortly after it opens.  They’re able to chat over their lattes for more than half and hour before each heading to work!  Get creative and you may find you have more time than you think!

*This probably warrants a Green Goal of its own, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go there yet.

Hello and welcome to the newest installment of Menstrual Mondays, wherein we review this week in menstrual news, blog entries, art, activism, and more!

•  The Chic Ecologist brings us an installment of the Environmental Impact of Everyday Things focused on the impact of menstrual products.  She goes into some interesting detail about what happens to the menstrual products that are thrown away and the history of green-washing such products. (image to the left is take from her article)
• Check out this week’s Do Good of the Week from GladRags Guerilla, Marta, who runs Be Good Do Good Yoga.  This week’s segment is all about natural birth control methods and why you should check them out.
• Girl w/ Pen has an impassioned editorial about the state of menstrual product advertising in Pop Goes Feminism: Does Your Period Make You Blue?
• Awesome blogger The Sexist has a hilarious article about the 5 Most Feminine Feminine Hygiene Products (note: they are not all menstrual products).
• Blog a la Cart shares a funny little story about her husband’s reaction to her excitement over first using the menstrual cup.

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Menstrual Monday.  Enjoy!

•  Bianca I. Laureano, on RH Reality Check, writes a very in depth and highly critical review of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation.  You can read it here.
• You can check out one woman’s journey from disposable menstrual products to cloth pads and menstrual cups here, on nora_charles livejournal blog.
• My Little Red Book is set to come out with second edition with new stories!  Learn about what made the author compile period stories from around the world from women of all ages in this story from the New Haven Resister (the author was a Yale woman).
• Blogger One Day at a Time has a great article on alternative menstrual products and why you should use them.
• One Craftster.org contributor has a great idea for what to do with those extra tampons lying around your house come Easter (see photo to the right).
• The Jezebel community provides us with a wealth of useful information in A Reader’s Treasury of Cures for your Cramps.  Note: there are some less than traditional (read illegal) cures in here.
• And last, but not least you can learn more about the Benefits of Menstrual Cups on Naturally Savvy.

April Monthly Friend: Viki Carter

Name: Viki Carter
Age: 38
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Current location: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Hospice Social Worker

Interests: Spending time with my two amazing daughters, my husband, and our Boston Terriers; knitting, reading, music and art.
Dreams: Honestly, I am living my dreams – I love my job, my family, and my life in general!

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: About seven years now.
Reason for making the switch to reusables: When my youngest daughter was born, we were firmly committed to cloth diapering, both for the environment and for her health. When my period started back up after her birth, I was having a great deal of discomfort and irritation from tampons/disposable pads. I thought; “Wait a minute – I am already cloth diapering – how is this different?!” I ordered some GladRags online, and have never looked back!

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: I am so grateful that using reusable menstrual products has almost “forced” me to be really open with my daughters about this. We talk very openly about Mommy’s period and what it is and what it means. My oldest is showing all the signs of impending puberty, and she wants to use cloth pads when the time comes. Nothing will make me prouder than ordering her her very own set!