Every so often we like to share a few of the love letters and rave reviews we get here at GladRags. Have your own story of how reusables changed your life? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. We love you too!

I am so glad my sister bought me my first set (and the set I still use) of GladRags about 4 years ago. They were the most useful gift I have ever received. Every time I use them, I feel so good about myself for keeping all those pads from going into the landfills. I live in China, so I was sharing with one of my Chinese friends how I don’t use disposables. She was shocked, and related to me that all women in the Chinese countryside used to use something similar to GladRags (and some still do), only until recent years. When I informed her of the impact on the planet and how this isn’t gross at all, she decided to get on board and have her mother make her some cloth pads too! Some people I talk to still think cloth pads are gross, but I hope to change their minds too. My Chinese friends have really taught me so much about reducing, reusing and recycling. I hope I can share some of this knowledge with them too. — Amanda

Thank you very much for your outstanding product! I just received my order this week and love my new pads. I cannot believe how comfortable they are and how fresh I feel! There is nothing like soft flannel against your skin! I wish I knew about these sooner. I bought my first few liners from Earthward in Amherst, NH and then contacted your company and placed a larger order. Thank you for the prompt shipping and awesome customer service! I will be telling all of my friends about your awesome company! I am doing a great thing for my body and the Earth as well! Thank you GladRags! — Kristine

I must have bought my first set of three purple pads in 1992, that was the year I moved to Portland. I bought a second set of three about a year later. Both sets are still with me and working fine. The second set of black envelopes (with orange patterned inserts) has gotten a bit threadbare, but honestly, I think I’ve had them 18 years and they’re still quite functional! The sewing around the edge hasn’t lost a stitch. One of the best investments I’ve ever made environmentally and financially! — Katrina

Welcome to your one stop shop for menstrual art, news, science, and more!

• All you hip ladies out there should check out these super cool 2011 Menstrual Lunar Calendar by Etsy crafter vivalacraft.
• Blogger Life as a Reader responds thoughtfully and personally to our post The Curse? Cultural Celebration of Menarche in her post Huge Myths About Women’s Bodies.
• See the commercial that started it all!  The word “period” said on air in this commercial for the first time by our friend, Courtney Cox.  Did anyone see this when it first aired?  Did you notice it was the first time you heard the word “period” on television?
• Read this sassy British review of the MoonCup, Investigative Journalism from the Fringes of Girl Culture #9827: Over the MoonCup, complete with awesome graphic (shown on right).
• Check out this awesome, unintentionally menstrual positive tattoo Norwegian footballer John Carew got on his neck.  This might have to be my next tattoo.
• Blogger Context and Variation posted a very interesting academic (but totally readable!) article titled Iron-deficiency is not something you get just for being a lady, which explores the relationship between anemia and menstruation.  Surprise!  They may not be as linked as you think.
• Look for the new Moon Cup packaging at your local store! It uses fewer materials and takes up even less space in shipping, reducing the cup’s eco-footprint even more.
• There are great tips in Social Media for the 28th Day: 9 Tech Tips for Easier Periods, but as you know DivaCup is not the only option. What is your favorite cup?  In your tweet, use the hashtag #28thday to voice your opinion and add your tips!

Name: Laura Szumowski
Age: 27
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Current location: Chicago, IL
Occupation: artist, author, small press owner

Interests: drawing, women’s health, books, comics, graphic novels, riding bikes, cooking, fun with friends.
Dreams: A big goal I have is to complete a series of books about women’s health– so far I’ve completed two books.  But my true goal is to make women’s health fun and exciting and approachable for folks.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: About 5 years.

Reason for making the switch to reusables: In college, I organized a group of friends to order bulk organic tampons with me so we could all save money – then I learned about the Keeper, and it sounded awesome.  Body-friendly, eco-friendly, and cheap!  Plus, I was intrigued by the idea of using my menstrual blood for plant food – although I never ended up trying that…

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: I was about to empty my Moon Cup one morning, but instead the whole thing spilled into my tights!  For a second I was horrified, because I was at work – but then I realized this was hilarious and couldn’t wait to tell a friend.  (Luckily it was winter, so I was wearing two pairs of tights.)

Help us improve our blog and you could win a Color Pad Sampler Kit!  Just take this quick survey by January 10th, and include your email address to enter to win.  Thanks!

Yesterday we received a letter from a customer who wore her GladRags Pantyliner through a security scanner and was so traumatized by her resulting TSA genital search that she wanted to warn other women. (Read her letter below). Her past history of sexual assault made this experience a nightmare for her. At first we thought yes, we will warn people not to put themselves through this risk.

But on second thought, we want to ask every willing woman, menstruating or not, to put a GladRags in her pants and go through the scanner.  Let the TSA learn to recognize that a menstruating woman is probably not a terrorist! (And, yes, we know myriad jokes can be made be about that statement).

The fact of the matter is, everyone is subject to an invasive search. For some women and men it causes great stress and perceived violation. If you can handle the experience fairly stress free, help clear the way for our menstruating sisters for whom a genital search by a group of strangers is a truly traumatizing experience.

So get your GladRags on and get to grandma's house! Over the river and thru the scannners!  

"This email isn't going to be as polished as I would normally send, but I'm upset and I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else (if I can stop it). I recently traveled via air, and was subjected to that new scanning device. "No problem," I thought. I was wearing jeans and a linen tanktop, bra, panties, and one camoflauge pantyliner. I'm a rule follower, so I never have any problems at the airport. Not this time. I was stopped, and then held for 15 mintues while they tried to find a female supervisor. I couldn't get to my bag, my shawl or my shoes; just standing there while the TSA agents kept me in one place. Now, I don't want this to be about bad TSA agents; they were doing their job, they were as delicate as they could be, etc., etc. But what ultimately happened is that I was subjected to search so invasive that I was left crying and dealing with memories that I thought had been dealt with years ago of prior sexual assualts. Why? Because of my flannel panty-liner. These new scans are so horrible that if you are wearing something unusual (like a piece of cloth on your panties) then you will be subjected to a search where a woman repeatedly has to check your "groin" while another woman watches on (two in my case – they were training in a new girl – awesome). So please, please, tell the ladies not to wear their liners at the airport (I didn't even have an insert in). I'm a strong, confident woman; I'm an Army vet (which is why those camo liners crack me up), I work full-time and go to graduate school full-time, I have a wonderful husband, and I don't take any nonsense from anyone. I don't dramatize, and I don't exaggerate. I'm trying to give you a sense of who I am so you won't think that this is a plea for attention, or a jumping on the bandwagon about the recent TSA proposed boycott. I just don't want another woman to have to go through the "patting down" because she didn't know that her glad-rag would be a matter of national security."

• 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.

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.

Here we are back from a bit of break to bring you the latest menstrual news, art, and more!

• In Which I Discuss Periods in which one mother/blogger shares her thoughts on the Keeper Cup.
• Interesting take on the attractive male type of advertising campaign– Disposable pad ads featuring shirtless dudes: creepy?  funny?  condescending?  What do you
• Great blog, EmpowHER explores the menstrual cup in this article.
• Easy to read, Fast Facts about alternative menstrual products.  Informative and fun, especially designed for teens!
• GladRags was featured in the Better World Shopping Guide and we got an A! Their highest grade!
• Green Your Period: Menstrual Cup Replaces Disposable Tampons gives some well deserved love to the Lunette Cup.
• On the nature of writing The fantastic, the mundane, and menstruation.
• The new Chinook Books are out!  They have tons of great coupons along with an awesome one from GladRags.  So if you live in the Bay Area, Boulder/Denver, Portland, Seattle, or the Twin Cities pick one up today!

It’s hot here today in Portland, and all I want to do is stretch out in a shady park and read a good book.  Below you’ll find a selection of books that are both great summer reads and excellent inspiration for eco-friendly lifestyle changes.  Pick one up from your local library, or purchase a used copy from independent bookstore Powells.com.

• No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process

• Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days

• Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability

• Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills

• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)

• Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat

• The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City

• The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally

• Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture

Leave your own suggestions for green summer reading in the comments!

• Guardian author, Hannah Betts, is inspired by British soap opera to discuss culture’s “weirdness about women’s private parts” in Mail got its knickers in a twist over Emmerdale’s ‘jam rags.’
• Psychology Today explores The Last Taboo: Menstruation and Body Literacy in a highly interesting article.
• Blogger Nevyn discusses her experience with reusable menstrual products coming from a place of embarrassment about her period.  Her article, Secret Women’s Business – Green Menstruation, includes lots of good times on using menstrual cups.
• Can menstrual cramps change the brain?  According to a preliminary study featured on ABC news they can!
• And last, but not least– 5 Reasons to Use a Menstrual Cup