While we stand by our statement that GladRags are economical and money-saving, we know some people like to keep their purchasing and consuming as local as they can.  One way to reduce your environmental footprint to make your own menstrual pads.  Treehugger has a great article that includes links to sewing patterns for menstrual pads along with suggestions on how to be an effective menstrual activist.  Making your own pads can be especially eco-friendly if you use old towels or other discarded fabric - in fact, the prototype for GladRags was made with one of my old towels. And it worked great - I used it for years.

But of course we think you should spend your crafty skills on some making fun clothes and hats and just buy your GladRags from us!

Breastfeeding is a subject close to my heart. I loved nursing my daughter. While pregnancy was an amazing experience, it was sort of an invisible process. Sure, I got as big as a house growing my 9 pounder but I couldn't see her change from day to day - only my rounding body was visible. However, once she was out,  I watched her grow, change, and thrive before my very eyes while nourished on nothing but the milk from my breasts. The invisible magic became visible. Some of the most wonderful memories in my mind are her adoring eyes looking up at me while she was nourished and comforted.

Lucky for me, I had some strong role models in friends, family, and Mothering Magazine to tell me I was doing the right thing. But many women not only don't have that support, they are in fact discouraged from nursing, given outdated advice by medical professionals, undermined by free samples of formula, and stigmatized by a society that continues to consider the breast a sex symbol instead of an infant's best source of food delivery. (Don't forget the ongoing Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene campaign.)

It riles me that more women and babies don't get to experience the pleasure and good benefits of breastfeeding, because it is good for both - mothers also have lasting health benefits from nursing. And it is the rare instance where nursing doesn't really work. It is more often a choice arrived at by poor information, or economic and social situations that don't support children and mothers.  The first week of August was World Breastfeeding Week and the organization of the same name has lots of great info. There are breastmilk banks (this link is about the one in Portland)  where moms with extra milk (yes, most women do have extra) can donate to babies in need. And the La Leche League is a great support organization for women who are having difficulties with the process. I got some great advice from them when my daughter began to try out her sharp little teeth. The photo above is my baby about 18 years ago. Oh, how time does fly!

My friend Melody works for another great Portland company, Emerita . They make the healthy lube we sell as well as other great women's bodycare products. She travels all the time and recently had an encounter with a fellow air traveler who happened to be a Greenpeace employee. Thanks for spreading the word, Melody!

  –Brenda

The other day I educated a Greenpeace canvasser on the importance of reusable menstrual products. It was really a ‘preaching to the choir’ moment, but still something well worth documenting.

What started out as the Greenpeace canvasser’s pitch, (I’ll call him Greg), on the evils of Kimberly Clark cutting down old growth trees quickly extended into my diatribe on how we should all stop the use of paper towels, use hemp toilet paper despite the likely roughness we may experience and demand that Kimberly Clark seek sustainable supply chains or halt their paper business altogether. Greg was a taken back, but engaged in my oration.

The segue into reusable menstrual products came when I compared a local Portland company’s business model to Kimberly Clark’s agenda of waste and massive scale environmental destruction. I told Greg about GladRags, and how the company’s concept of using soft, washable, reusable cloth for a woman’s menstrual cycle is an idea that can bring us back to earth, to living more sustainably.

“Greg!” I excitedly exclaimed, “This is something every woman can do to cut down on her environmental impact! Does Greenpeace know about GladRags?!”

Greg nodded in agreement and appreciated that I was passionate about alternative menstrual options. He politely interrupted me as I started to give details about my GladRags pantyliner experience on a recent flight back East, by asking if would consider renewing my Greenpeace membership.

Noticing the wedding band on his ring finger I confirmed that Greg was indeed married and obliged to renew my Greenpeace membership on one condition, that he pledge to tell his wife and other women in his life about GladRags and we can use our menstrual cycles to save the planet, one GladRags at time.

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>

Hey GladRags Users,

We are having a kickass sale on all Color Day 3-packs, Color Pantyliner 3-packs and Color Nightpad 3-packs. Also all Moon Cup Kits and Keeper Cup Kits.

To take advantage of this sale,  just be our Facebook friend and you'll see the coupon code. Or you can follow us on twitter.com/GladRags and get the coupon there.  And tell your friends to follow and friend us  too, so they can start saving the world every 28 days.

Deals like this just don't come along very often. It ends Saturday night so jump on it now.

I'm doing a little horn-tooting here! My husband, Bruce Barrow, is an awesome film editor and just won his fifth NW regional Emmy for an Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary. This one was for Silent Invasion, a show about invasive non-native plants and animals that are changing Oregon's ecology. It's specific to Oregon but has national implications. They also set up website hotline for people to report when they see invasives. The show also won the prestigious duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism. Congrats, OBP.

It's a total advertising ploy by Madsen (post a link and enter to win) for this cargo bike, but I got suckered in because I think it would be so great to have this to haul stuff. I got groceries yesterday on my bike and could barely stuff everything in my 20-year-old paniers. The weather has been stunning in Portland the past week, and bikers have been out in droves. I'm loving it and vowing that I will stop being a fair-weather commuter and get serious this fall when rains come back. 

We were recently contacted by Srini Perera who asked us for donations of menstrual pads to help with aid efforts in Sri Lanka. Srini lives in California now, but she is from Sri Lanka. She, her husband, and family all work hard to help procure supplies to send there. Currently thousands of displaced families are living in temporary camps in northern Sri Lanka.  Rather than sending disposable pads to a community that is struggling with many basic needs and doesn’t have waste disposal systems to handle all of the trash created by such products, Srini is encouraging donations of GladRags for a long-term, sustainable solution. Srini and her family formed ECSWorld.com to inspire and coordinate donations.  GladRags is happy to support their work.  Purchase any number of GladRags Regular Day Pads 3packs (SL3) to donate and GladRags will donate two more pads! We have set up a special product page for her donors to use (and anyone else who wants to help). Srini has a shipment going to Sri Lanka on May 20.   Order quickly to make sure your donation makes the cut!  This donation would make an excellent Mother's Day present for the socially conscious mother. To purchase pads for women in Sri Lanka, click here. To read more about ECS World, click here.

I know it's very retro, but I still get a morning newspaper subscription. Unless I shred them for my worm bin, or use for a painting drop cloth, they go straight into the recycle bin. But here's a great way to recycle them in a more useful manner. I'm not much of a gardener these days, because my CSA delivers almost more veggies than I can use, but if you have a green thumb,  check out this great way to make seedling pots -  here are the instructions, courtesy Little House in the Suburbs. 

I just ran across this article on www.examiner.com, about irritiations caused by disposable menstrual products. The writer, San Francisco gynecologist, Dr. Jennifer Gunter, lays out some facts, and mentions GladRags as a soft, safe alternative.

Here at GladRags, we hear these stories of irritation and relief from our customers quite frequently, but it is great to hear it confirmed by a medical professional.Thanks, Dr. Gunter.

 - Brenda