Hannah is one of two interns who will be joining the GladRags Team for the summer.  We’re super excited to have her on board! 

Name: Hannah Forman
Age: 20
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Current location: Portland, Oregon
Occupation: GladRags Intern! almost college graduate, life-long student

Interests: Nutrition, Yoga, German, French, Feminism, French feminism, Performance Arts, Traveling, Photo Taking, Bicycling and the Sun.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: Haven’t started yet but I am looking forward to it!
Reason for making the switch to reusables: Well, GladRags makes a pretty clever case for it - I’m concerned about the well-being of the earth, especially in this near-apocalyptic age (2012). I’m also concerned about the well-being of my body and would like to remain toxin free as much as possible.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: I used to  try to hide the fact that I was on my period at all costs. (similar to June friend) Now, I think that’s a misuse of time that could be spent not only feeling great instead of feeling ashamed, but also talking openly about what alternatives are out there to support us.

Hi! I’m Alyssa, GladRags intern for the summer! My job is to create an informative and fun zine for young women, and another for young girls about alternative menstrual products. I am hoping you, fellow GladRags followers, can help me come up with a great name for each zine. I’m hoping to have the title be straightforward, but witty. Thanks for your help!

Alex and I had a blast at the Seattle Green Festival this past weekend!  We were crazy busy, but it was so much fun to meet everyone — from women who’ve been using GladRags for years, to those who’d never even heard of us before.

One young woman spotted our booth and ran up to tell me that she had only heard of the Green Festival because her sister in Minneapolis had told her that GladRags would be there.  Another told us, “I hope this isn’t too much information, but I’m using a GladRag right now!”  Funnily enough, about five other women told us the same thing over the course of the weekend!

The other exhibitors were just as friendly as the festival attendees.  Our fellow Portlanders Honest Tea kept us supplied with delicious beverages (have you tried their kombucha??) and Sandrine swapped two bags from her June 15 collection in exchange for a set of GladRags.  Organic Essence let us try their brand-new lip balm (in awesome biodegradable packaging!) and we shared some pantyliners with our booth neighbor to take home to his teenage daughter.

Overall, Seattle was a great experience and one I hope we can repeat at the next Green Festival!  More importantly, it reminded me that living a sustainable life shouldn’t be a solitary pursuit.  On that note, your Green Goal this week is to get involved with your neighbors, friends, and community to talk about what you’re doing to save the planet.  Make connections, get inspired, and support each other in the pursuit of sustainable living!

Alyssa is one of two interns who will be joining the GladRags Team for the summer.  We’re super excited to have her on board! 

Name: Alyssa Beers
Age: 23
Hometown:Monroe, Connecticut
Current location: Portland, Oregon
Occupation: Crazy/Sexy/Cool GladRags Intern for the summer! Artist, Musician, Wall Ball Enthusiast, College Graduate (anyone want to give me a job?)

Interests: Drawing, collage, bicycling, playing wall ball, free boxes, diy projects, braiding hair, the many colors of wood, novice gardening.
Dreams: Going on a bike tour (it’s happening in July!) & to stop biting my nails (might never happen).

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 3 years
Reason for making the switch to reusables: My friend Mary said she had to go put in her “blood cup”- I had no idea what that meant so when I asked the answer was “Oh a safe, reusable cup that holds your period blood” I said “I HAVE TO HAVE THAT”. I’d like to say I’m “environmentally conscious” and was surprised to learn there were such amazing products — some from right here in Portland! — that I had yet to even hear about.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: The first time I used my Keeper I totally poured blood all down my arm. In a public restroom. People thought I’d come out of the stall having murdered a small animal or something. I’m totally vocal about all bodily issues after spending many of my formative years afraid to so much as fart in a room with my friends. I’ve come a long way to now being comfortable not only talking about how awesome it is to use menstrual products that won’t harm me or my environment, but comfortable enough with my body to use ‘em in the first place. Really, all you need is that first time of being like, yep, that’s my menstrual blood on my arm, and then you’re set for life.

Take a break from your (hopefully not too) manic Monday with this week’s Menstrual Monday: a line-up of interesting news articles, blogs, art, and more, straight from the GladRags Twitter feed.

• Pick up a copy of the latest Mothering Magazine for their awesome article on cloth diapers; a lot of the concepts in “The Diaper Dilemma” apply to cloth pads, too.

• Lunette Selenes are in!  You’ll have to excuse us shouting this from the rooftops, because these cups are just so darn pretty.  I think I actually clapped my hands with glee when the package arrived at the office.

• Read “Saving the World by Not Using Tampons” to learn more about the founder of Green Drinks Singapore and why her first experience recycling was not so fun.

• “Eight Myths about Washable Pads Dispelled” makes me love the folks at Scarleteen even more than I already did.  Such an amazing resource for young people!

• Kali from The MakeUp Drawer Blog recently heard about cloth pads for the first time and shares her thoughts.  She says she’s not a convert (yet) but wants to hear your experience in the comments — so make sure you let her know how much you love reusables!

• Go Green Street has five super easy tips to help ease menstrual cramps — naturally.

• What does it mean to stop menstruating?  The Great Whatsit reflects on the finale of her 29 years of menstruation.

• Here at GladRags HQ we’ve been preparing for this year’s Green Festival in Seattle.  We’re hoping lots of GladRags fans will stop by our booth to say hi! Volunteers for the festival get free passes, so there’s no excuse to miss this incredible event!

Do you live in the Portland area and love GladRags?  We’re looking for an intern to join us at our North Portland HQ for the summer — COULD IT BE YOU?!?!?!

Under the guidance of three (pretty awesome, if we do say so ourselves) staff members, you’ll get ongoing training on projects that will exercise your research and networking skills. You’ll be encouraged to take part in our staff meetings and will have opportunities to learn the ins and outs of the green business and women’s health fields. During the course of your internship, you’ll gain valuable skills that can be put to use in the non-profit sector, advertising, green business, and more.

We are all super excited to have an additional team member this summer and hope to find someone who is as enthusiastic about working at GladRags as we are!  If you’re interested in joining us, please read the “fine print” below and apply by emailing us at orders@gladrags.com with a letter of interest, resume, and writing sample.  Deadline is May 14th — we can’t wait to hear from you!

The Fine Print:

Please have an interest in environmentalism, the ability to talk about menstruation openly, and a desire to learn more about the green business market. It’s important to us that you embrace the GladRags mission and believe in our products.  Bicycling to work is not necessary, but strongly encouraged!  Biking companions may be provided depending on route (if you ride with us, you may be required to stop for donuts occasionally).

Wage/salary/stipend: Unpaid

Schedule:  180 hours for the summer.  Flexible scheduling.  A firm time commitment is required.

We’re excited to announce that GladRags has joined the partner program of Powell’s Books, one of the greatest independent booksellers around!

What does that mean to you?  For starters, have you noticed the new link in our sidebar to our GladRags Reading List?  Check it out to see a list of our recommended reads in a variety of topics — and be sure to check back frequently as we’ll be updating the list as we come across new books!  Also, expect to see links to related books at the bottom of upcoming blog posts.

And, when you make any purchase from Powells.com after clicking on a link from this page, we’ll receive a portion of the sale — so you can support GladRags and Powell’s!  You can also sell books you no longer need back to Powells.com for cash or store credit.

Do you have a great book you think we should review or recommend?  Please comment and let us know so we can share your suggestions with the rest of the GladRags community!

Last month we posted about participating in Bike Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge.  Now we’re excited to share the amazing results of this month-long competition!

Number of participating workplaces:
1240

Number of riders:
11,118

Number of riders new to bike commuting:
2,693

Total number of miles biked:
1,244,718

That’s a lot of bike commuters and a lot of miles!  We had so much fun challenging ourselves to bike to work every single day (as a team, we logged 490 miles in September!) and checking our ranking on the BTA website — we even received a plaque for our 100% workplace participation rate!

You can read more about the Bike Commute Challenge — including the guy who biked over 1,800 miles in just 21 days! — at Bike Portland’s blog.  Thanks again to the Bike Transportation Alliance for organizing such an enjoyable competition and to all the other teams who participated!

Does our blog look a little funky?  We just launched our brand new website and some of our blog entries were affected by the switch.  While we work on restoring the format of GladRags Gab, be sure to check out all the awesome new features on GladRags.com and let us know what you think!

Here at GladRags we often listen to podcasts as we tirelessly work to provide you the best of service and support.  Some of our favorites come from the How Stuff Works family of podcasts.  They all have the impossible combination of expertise, wit, humor, and chemistry between the two podcasters.  A recent podcast on Stuff Mom Never Told You was titled “Is Menstruation the Last Taboo?”  Look them up on itunes or go to their website to listen. Needless to say, we found something missing from their podcast.  Because they always encourage feedback we sent them this letter:

Hi Cristen and Molly, First of all, we just want to say that we listen to your podcast all the time at work!  We love your fun and in-depth coverage of such a variety of topics — some of our favorites are “The Mysteries of Nancy Drew” and “Are Breast Implants Linked to Suicide.”

We are writing today in regards to your podcast titled “Is Menstruation the Last Taboo?”

We thought it was great and covered a lot of territory, but we were disappointed that you never mentioned alternative menstrual products in your discussion of becoming more comfortable with our menstrual cycles. Alternative menstrual products include things like menstrual cups (DivaCup, Keeper Cup, Moon Cup, etc), cloth pads, and sea sponge tampons. We work at GladRags (http://www.gladrags.com), a company which sells these types of products, so promoting positive attitudes toward menstruation is a subject near and dear to our hearts! Not many women know that there are alternatives to disposable products, but we believe that every woman should have all the information available so that she can make the best choice for her body.  The health benefits notwithstanding — reusables don’t contain bleach or other harmful chemicals and have never been linked to toxic shock syndrome — we find that most women gain a greater understanding of their bodies and a sense of comfort with their menstrual cycle.  In addition, the average woman uses 16,800 pads or tampons in her lifetime — imagine the environmental impact of all that waste! You mentioned that a lot of your fans are interested in hearing about the history of the tampon.  We hope that you will include reusable menstrual products in your podcast, as the tampon as we know it is a relatively recent invention compared to cloth pads and menstrual cups! We plan on sharing your podcast with our customers on our Facebook and blog (http://www.gladrags.com/blog).  Thanks for keeping us informed and entertained while we work! -Alex and Tracy, the girls from GladRags.com

Hopefully they will mention alternative menstrual products on the next podcast they record.  Even if they don’t, you should listen, because they are great!  Did you listen to this podcast?  What did you think?  What podcasts do you subscribe to?  We are always looking for more!