Diane used to work at GladRags years ago before she moved away to study Vipassana meditation.  We loved having her around then and we still miss her. It was always fun to watch her at lunch time intently writing away in her journal.

Name: Diane
Age: 37
Hometown: SF East Bay, CA
Current location: Charlotte, NC
Occupation: SAHM

Interests: poetry, flash fiction, Vipassana meditation, family life
Dreams: I have a one year old… my dream right now is to take a really long nap. Beyond that I’d like to continue reducing my carbon footprint, nurture a happy healthy family, and to write, published or not.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 16 years
Reason for making the switch to reusables: It just made sense to the environment, to my health- it was a logical decision for me.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: (currently my mind is pretty clear… or full of hearing ‘mommy! mommy! mommy!… so I’m going to go now. I’ll think on this…)

This blog post originally appeared on My Red Tent.  We thought it was just to cute and funny to not share with the GladRags community!  Thanks to GladRags Guerrilla, Lafan, for allowing us to re-post it.

Who would have thought that a Gladrags cloth pad could double as a teddy bear cast.  Thank you to my kids for creativity and good laughs!

• Alternative menstrual products fan and all around cool blogger, RasingBoyChick, writes an in depth and thoughtful review of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation.



• A student makes an amazing gingerbread and candy uterus model!  See photo to the right.  Learn more and see the the candy key here.
• Simply Healthful has a great Moon Cup review.
• Awesome blog post about the pros and cons of menstrual cups from Shuffled Pink. In summary: “Just do it, you big sissy.”
• Do women living close to each other sync up their periods? Our favorite podcast, @MomStuffPodcast explores in a recent podcast why many believe this and what science shows.
• Interesting article from Live Science on the most recent research on what happens to women during ovulation and how this may effect behavior.

Reviews and giveaways!

• Win organic pantyliners from Sacred Bee and read her review here!

For most of us, when a pregnant woman goes into labor, it’s a joyous event for her friends and family.  We take it for granted that childbirth is safe; that not only will we have a new baby in our lives but that the mother will still be there tomorrow to take care of it.

In Haiti, a country recently ravaged by natural disasters, it’s a different story.  Due to a lack of prenatal care and the fact that the majority of deliveries are done by untrained individuals, Haiti has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the western hemisphere.

That’s where Midwives for Haiti comes in.  Started by certified nurse-midwives, they “believe every woman in this world deserves the knowledge and care to have a safe pregnancy and birth.”  By providing training and resources to wome

n in the community, Midwives for Haiti hopes to improve access to skilled care for pregnant women and ensure that more mothers and babies survive.

Now, Midwives in Haiti is asking for your help.  Already limited supplies have become even more scarce since January’s earthquake, and women must use old rags (if anything) to collect postpartum bleeding.  Certified nurse midwife Jennifer S., who is traveling to Haiti in November, is assembling kits for new mothers that will include cloth diapers, a blanket, soap, a onesie for the baby, and cloth menstrual pads.  Please help her reach her goal of bringing 50 cloth pads with her to these women in need by donating today!

Want to learn more?  Read these two amazing stories by volunteer midwives:

• An American Midwife in Haiti

• Birth by headlamp in Hinche, Haiti

• The Allergy Be Gone blog shares with us info on a New Study Finds that Early Menstruation Linked to Greater Asthma Risk.
• One of the the most interesting blogs on the internet, Sociological Images, reports on an artist’s installation on Re-Framing Menstruation through branding (see image to the right).
• Pfizer recalls ThermaCare HeatWraps Menstrual lot.  Check out our microwavable Herbal Comfort pacs instead!
• Check Mommy of 1 and Counting’s review of GladRags pads.

• “Menstruation Skateboards: some girls bleed more than once a month.”  An Austrian university student creates a fake skateboard brand that is both awesome and positively reframes menstruation.

• A new study links early menstruation to a greater risk of asthma.

• Save on GladRags in stores by requesting up to 10 coupons on GladRags.com.

• Enter to win a 3-pack of GladRags color day pads on Heather M’s blog, Mommy of 1 and Counting!

We like to stay in touch with former GladRags co-workers because they lead such interesting lives.  Elizabeth is an inspiration to us and also to others. She is a great lesson in pursuing your dreams! 

Name: Elizabeth Marsh
Age: 32
Hometown: Duluth, Minnesota
Current location: I’m new to Madison, Wisconsin
Occupation: Unitarian Universalist minister

Interests: Racial justice and social justice work, being outside, bicycle and pedestrian advocacy, and good, subversive pop culture.
Dreams: I just accomplished my dream of attending seminary and being ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister, so now I’m in the process of imagining some new dreams.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products? I’ve been relying on them for 8 or 9 years now.
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I switched for many reasons: environmentally, I could take my own responsibility for the lessening of paper menstrual product production and their waste in landfills.  I also appreciate the women’s empowerment that happens around reusables, and the financial savings are quite nice after all these years.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: My first exposure to reusable menstrual products was a decade ago, when I served in AmeriCorps in Portland, Oregon.  My work team took a tour of businesses focused on reduction and reuse of waste materials.  GladRags was one of these businesses.  An employee showed us The Keeper and all the women on my team were astonished: “How does that huge thing fit inside my body?!”  Little did I know then that I’d soon use The Keeper and GladRags, eventually work for the company, and now be sharing my story as their Monthly Friend.  I’ve learned so much from the whole company, especially the customers I worked with when I was a GladRags employee.  Many of us learned from each other that menstrual cups are not nearly as huge as they first seem.