Eastern Washington University’s student newspaper reported that over 40% of the feminine hygiene machines were broken on their campus, and it reminded me of an experience I had with feminine hygiene machines. 

It happened to me in high school.

I had just started my period and wasn’t very good at keeping extra supplies in my backpack or locker. I found a quarter in one of those obscure backpack pockets, ever so slyly slipped it into my pocket, and prayed to the gods that no one would be in the bathroom so I could buy my tampon in peace and no one would have to know I was on my period.

But of course, I was not alone, and I had to buy my tampon with another girl in the bathroom, who probably didn’t even notice me.

It was one of the most mortifying moments of my life, and became even worse when the machine didn’t work. I left the bathroom and found one of my friends in the hall, who in fact did have an extra tampon on her, as she was on her period, too.

Knowing that my friend was on her period at the same time as me was oddly comforting. Shocking, I know, that it took a fourteen year old almost a year into her period to come to terms with the fact that she couldn’t possibly be the only girl in the world on her period at any given moment. But that’s what got me through that week, and now I’m thinking that’s all that matters. Although I never did get that quarter back.

It’s these kind of moments where I wish I had known about GladRags. Before this semester at school, I didn’t even know that there were alternatives to disposable tampons and pads. I had asked my friend if she had an extra tampon (I’m sensing a trend here about myself) and she told me she had never used a tampon. She had only used a menstrual cup since she started her period. I started doing some research, and was considering trying out a menstrual cup. I was also looking for a summer job at the time and Bitch magazine shared a summer internship opportunity, and I found GladRags.

My period is nothing to be shameful about, and now I think it’s more embarrassing that it took me years of being on my period to figure this out. The experience illustrates something that I think needs to change, and that’s how we talk about, or more likely not talk about, our periods. Finding GladRags and its community of followers helped me find that period positivity. It’s an empowering feeling that is central to the GladRags mission, and I am proud to be a part of that.

About the author of this post:
Bronte Dod is the summer intern at GladRags and attends Willamette University, studying politics, history, and women’s and gender studies. She is passionate about education, dance, and hiking with her dog.

I am usually a little shy about tooting my own horn, but I can’t help but share that I WON SOMETHING! That “something” is Young Entrepreneur of the Year, awarded by the Portland Small Business Administration. Aside from annually getting a trophy for Most Improved in peewee soccer, this is the only time I’ve gotten a trophy for my efforts, so I’m pretty excited.

I couldn’t make it to the awards luncheon so my awesome dad accepted the award on my behalf. He even wore a tie! Here he is, after telling the audience that he was sure that if I WERE there, the first thing I would want to do is thank my father (funny and true!).

Way cooler than any of my soccer trophies.

You can read more about the Small Business Administration awards luncheon here. Since I wasn’t there to tearfully accept my trophy in a beautiful evening gown to a crowd of thousands (I may be suffering from the delusion that I’ve won an Academy Award), here’s a quick list of the organizations without whom I would be lost:

• The Small Business Administration and SCORE
• Women Entrepreneurs of Oregon
• The PSU Business Outreach Program

Additionally, the following women deserve my eternal gratitude for their support in my journey with GladRags: Brenda Mallory, Leslie Siegle, and Alyssa Beers. And of course, to our customers — who choose to support small business over massive corporations, who believe that woman-owned and USA-made is worth the extra money, and who are generally an incredibly savvy group of ladies — thank you.

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, travel, read, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

As the Oregon legislature considers establishing a legal framework for Benefit Corporations within our home state, we thought we’d share with you the top two reasons we chose to become a certified by the non-profit B Lab as a Benefit Corporation.

1. People

Last week almost 400 workers were killed and hundreds more injured in a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh in one of the worst industrial accidents in history. Worse, the supervisors knew the building was unsafe, and ordered workers to report to work anyway. Our hearts ache for the lives lost, and for the blatant disregard for the well-being of the workers.

People often ask us, “wouldn’t your products be cheaper if you just made them in Asia?” The answer is yes, the dollar cost to the consumer would be less, but the overall cost to the world would be far greater. We’re not willing to sacrifice the health of human beings just to compete on price. Our customers — the hundreds of thousands of smart, compassionate women who choose GladRags — understand this, and we thank them for it.

We choose to go beyond “do no harm” to the workers and communities we interact with. We want to actively create good for the people involved in our business. This is why we work with our employees and suppliers to ensure healthy, happy work situations for all.

2. Planet

It’s easy to see that our products are good for the environment. Cloth pads and menstrual cups keep tons of plastic trash out of our landfills, off our beaches, and away from our bodies. We think that’s great, but it’s not enough. Businesses should create products and services that do right by the world, of course, but our actions should reflect that, too.

GladRags chooses to support the environment in myriad ways, big and small. Every decision we make — from how to package our products to what kind of packing tape to purchase — we ask ourselves, how can we make the right choice for the environment?

Our customers will notice that their products ship in minimal packaging that is recycled, recyclable, biodegradable, or all of the above. You might notice that our marketing materials are printed on FSC certified paper with wind-powered printing, too. Behind the scenes, we commute to work by bicycle or by public transportation, and we’re proud that we rarely need to take out the trash more than a few times per month!

We choose to be a Certified Benefit Corporation because it holds us accountable for our actions, and encourages us to confront every opportunity with the questions: does this reflect our values? How does this serve people and planet?

Currently, 20 states are considering B Corp legislation, and 12 have passed bills recognizing B Corps as a corporate structure whose ultimate goal is to positively influence people and the planet. Here’s hoping Oregon soon joins the ranks!

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

If you’re not from here, you might think that Portland, Oregon is just like the show Portlandia. Even if you are from here, you might think the show is pretty accurate (sigh).

We are still waiting for Carrie to profess her love for reusable menstrual products…

Fortunately, there are some parts of our hometown that are 100% awesome and unpretentious, like the new Portland Made movement: “unique, quality, goods supporting a local artisan and manufacturing economy.” What’s not to love?

Check out their launch video below, with plenty of action shots of GladRags & menstrual cup bags being made! Oh, Portland, despite your occasional silliness, we really do love you.

Portland Made from Portland Made on Vimeo.

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

We’re looking for a passionate, energetic, eco-friendly intern to join our team this summer! Interns here at GladRags are regarded as integral part of our team whose work has measurable meaning for our company and our mission. Our customer service superstar Alyssa — the creator of the awesome zine Menstruation Sensation! — was once an intern here.

If you live in the Portland area and are looking to gain real-world small business experience while working with a unique values-driven company, we’d love to hear from you. Please download the full GladRags Summer Internship information and follow the directions to apply.

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

Meagan with our booth mascot, Cuterus!

We’re back from another great year at Expo! Each year we’re amazed by the sheer number of people and companies who attend. We had a great time meeting people from all over the world and taking their photos with Cuterus (see image)! You can find all of our Cuterus pics on Facebook.

One of the most fun parts of Expo is getting to try out new products and visit old friends. Read on for some of our favorite things from Natural Products Expo West 2013:

• Sigg and Cuipo have joined forces to create a totally adorable line of reusable water bottles. Steve the Sloth is our favorite, but every water bottle in the collection helps preserve the rainforest with your purchase and activation code.

• Pacifica’s new skin care line kept our skin refreshed after long days at the show. We loved the Sea Foam Complete Face Wash and Pacifica’s partnership with the Ocean Futures Society.

• Fellow certified B Corp Kleen Kanteen gave us these awesome stainless steel pint glasses (filled with beer, of course!) for being part of the Benefit Corporation movement.

• The team at Sir Richard’s condoms always seems to be having the most fun, and we met at least one GladRags fan from their crew! We dig their cheeky “I won’t put chemicals or ______ in my vagina” marketing, and admire their success in providing condoms to developing countries.

• And of course, we got to visit with tons of friends! We shared dinner with the lovely ladies of Lunette, and were pumped to say hi to the folks at Rockin’ Green, gDiapers, Planet Wise, and more!

Cuterus says, “see you next year!”

About the author of this post:
Tracy Puhl is the owner of GladRags and is passionate about period positivity and empowering women everywhere. In her free time, she likes to volunteer, run around her neighborhood, and cuddle with her favorite cat.

Two years ago tomorrow, GladRags entered a new cycle. I was purchasing the company from its founder, the fabulous Brenda Mallory. We picked March 4th because it was the start of a new moon (a time for rebirth!) and because the date itself seemed an imperative from the universe: march forth!

For both of us, it was a bold step forward in our lives: Brenda was leaping full-on into her blossoming art career, and I was a 24-year-old office manager suddenly becoming the owner of the business I loved. Minds? Blown.

March 4th, 2011 after a glass of champagne!

I almost can’t wrap my head around all the things that have happened in the past two years. We’ve become a certified Benefit Corporation, launched our new website, partnered with Empower Women in Africa to bring cloth pads to girls in rural Namibia, reached thousands upon thousands of women with our message of empowerment, sustainability, and health… and so much more!

It’s an amazing job that I feel incredibly lucky to have. It’s been hard, too, of course. Who knew running a reusable menstrual product company wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows?! But you know what keeps me inspired and energized every day? The daily messages of appreciation we receive from GladRags fans — women whose lives have been changed for the better just by switching to our products! So thank you, for keeping our business growing and thriving, and for sharing your stories with us. We couldn’t do it without you.

So today, in celebration of two awesome years (and many more to come!), I challenge you: be bold today. Be fearless, do something unexpected, and enjoy the heck out of it. March forth!

xoxo

Tracy

P.S. Brenda and I haven’t taken another photo together (yet!), but rest assured we’ll be toasting each other with champagne once again this year!

Here at GladRags, we’re always looking for ways to improve the way we do business. Sometimes, the solution is obvious (recycle everything) and sometimes, it’s not so straightforward. When we became a Benefit Corporation (more on that here!) we realized that we had room for improvement with our merchant services provider.

First off, what in the world is a merchant services provider? They’re the ones who make accepting credit cards possible, by processing the customer’s card and charging a small fee to the seller. As a company that sells products online, this is a service we use every day. So we thought: how can we make this super important part of our operations fall in line with our values?

After some research, we discovered Dharma Merchant Services and fell in love. Like GladRags, Dharma is also a Benefit corporation, with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. Even better, they donate 10% of their revenue from fees to a non-profit organization of our choice!

We’re proud to have chosen to continue our support of Empower Women in Africa with this added revenue source, and thank YOU, our customers, for every transaction you make with us. Any time you place an order with us, you’ll be adding to the amount Dharma Merchant Services will send to Empower Women in Africa, at no cost to you. Just another reason to feel amazing about shopping at GladRags.com!

We want to hear from you: what else can we do to make our impact on people and the planet even more positive? Tell us in the comments!

After GladRags was announced as a finalist in Green America’s People & Planet Awards, I sent an email out to my friends and family. I’d been pondering what to say on our blog here when it occurred to me that the GladRags community is kind of like my friends and family so it only makes sense that I would share the same email I sent to my grandma, the neighbors I have potlucks with, and my dearest friends, with all of you. You’ll find it below.

If we win, we’ll use the prize to further our efforts in increasing our environmental sustainability, supporting our partner Empower Women in Africa, and increasing the positive impact we have on our community. I’d love to hear your comments or suggestions about how we can continue to be a business that is, above all, doing right by people and the planet.

Hey friends & family,

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you’ve probably seen this already (and hopefully voted!) but I wanted to make sure everyone saw this.

GladRags was chosen as a finalist out of 250 nominees in Green America’s People & Planet Award — and could win $5,000. But what’s more important to me is the opportunity for GladRags to be recognized as a leader of values-driven business. Many of you know that at one point my plan was to be a social worker — I am lucky that through GladRags I am able to accomplish similar goals, with the same core values of social justice and environmental sustainability, only on a much larger scale!

Everyone can vote for three businesses, so I encourage you to take the time to check out some of the other amazing finalists, too. Ultimately of course, I hope you’ll “spend” one of your votes on GladRags. Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone you think would be interesting in voting, too.

You can click here to vote: http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for supporting green business!

Love,

Tracy

A huge thank you to everyone who purchased an Empower Kit through GladRags.com — your donations are making a difference! Read on to hear from Patty how cloth menstrual pads can help empower women in Africa.

I just returned from Uganda and had a wonderful time. The new uniforms and sanitary kits were well received. Hussein stood in front of the village parents and gave a speech about the importance of girls and education and about the GladRags cloth menstrual pad kits – some of the parents got embarrassed and Hussein was really funny addressing their embarrassment. Amazing that a school in rural Uganda has a more “open” community about talking on girl’s issues than we do here in the states!

There is a teacher at the schools that meets monthly with older girls to talk all about their personal issues – like a mentor – really cool. We are encouraging the girls who got sanitary kits to pick a younger girl at the school to mentor and take under their wing in order to help them be more comfortable with talking about girl issues.

Thank you for all your support and feel free to continue contributing if you would like to – we can’t express our appreciation enough to all those who support One School at a Time.

Patty Gilbert, Co-founder of One School at a Time