Lunapads Blog

Last Friday, we were delighted to see the Huffington Post write a story called “How to Green Your Period” describing the many ways to green your period.  (Check out slide number 4 which talks about reusable cloth pads, including Lunapads.)   You can even “vote” for your favorite period product: menstrual cups and cloth pads are ranked #1 and #2 respectively!

Despite the Huffington Post having a progressive following, not long after the post went up, a lot of readers posted comments indicating they were put off by the topic, men and women included.  Many expressed their disgust that the Huffington Post would write about such a “vulgar” topic and why nothing was sacred anymore.  Well, thanks to fans of the DivaCup and Lunapads, there is now a bit more balance in the over 200 comments posted to date.  I particularly like what “kudzumaster” had to say about the negative feedback:

“Would it be better to go back to the days in which women were ashamed about their normal processes, and thus kept ignorant and uninformed? I know they were good times, when teenaged girls got their first period and hid in the bathroom, thinking they were bleeding to death because no one was comfortable enough to discuss menstruation with them, but I think we’re ready to move past that now, aren’t we. Women bleed once a month during their childbearing years. It’s a fact, and nothing to be embarrassed about.”

I can appreciate that people have hang ups about certain topics, but I can never understand why they go on to publicly express those hang ups.  Posting those kinds of comments only shines a light on their degree of ignorance about a topic they can’t seem get their head around.   It’s refreshing to see others chiming in to show a more eco-positive perspective about periods.  Thank you, and if you haven’t commented yet, please do so!

While surfing around the Huffington Post website, I came across a story by writer Deanna Neal called “Make her Vagina Green” packed with interesting projections about the number of bleeding women in the world and how much garbage is produced by disposable feminine hygiene products.  As compelling as those numbers are, Deanna isn’t ready or willing to try reusable products herself, but at least does a good job informing the more ‘mainstream’ reader why she should think about healthier options for her period.  Deanna, if you’re reading this, we’d love to send you some Lunapads and Lunapanties to try out!  Never say never; we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Anyone else out there want to try and convince Deanna to make the switch?

Hi everyone, this is Karen. I’m not much of a blogger nor writer so please bear with me. Where to start…? I guess I will start with a summary of my life. I come from a huge closely knit family where most of us live less than a 5 minute walk away from each other. I was born in Macau and immigrated here when I was young. Zipping past elementary and high school, I finished my Science degree (Cell Biology and Genetics major) at UBC and am currently trying to get a diploma in Accounting by going through the Diploma in Accounting program.

My hobbies are anything related to the word “lazy”: sleeping, eating, watching TV, daydreaming, staring into the blue sky…… “Exercise” is a foreign word to me. Even so, I love the great outdoors. I love the greenness, the calmness and the musky smell of the forest, which is why being as lazy as I am, I would still say “yes” to any camping or hiking trips. I guess Scouts Canada had been a big influential factor for this. Scouting had occupied the majority of my childhood, even thought I stopped for a few years, I rejoined and am now a proud Scout troop leader for one of the local Scout groups.

Even though I am not as extreme as being a tree-hugger yet, I do wish there was more green in the world and for people to become more conscious of the natural world around them. This is a major driving force in my life and the reason why I am at Lunapads. The owners and staff here are extremely friendly, I get hands on experience related to what I am studying right now and the values of the company are in sync with my own personal values.

What people tell me that is interesting about me:
1. I have a love for eating (not cooking) to a point that my eyes literally sparkle when I talk about it.
2. I went to Osaka, Japan on exchange for a year when I was an undergrad and lived off around $800 a month (including rent, food, electricity, water, gas, phone, etc and still managed to travel around) which is apparently pretty impressive considering where I was.
3. I have been taking art lessons from the same teacher for over 10 years and took up Chinese calligraphy from the same teacher 4 years ago.  Yet I did a Science major and am now in Business school. It doesn’t seem logical to some people but it’s what I do.

I guess my life is full of contradictions.

I’ve been given the opportunity to introduce myself in between editing videos late at night and listening to some favorite tunes. So here we go.

First off my name is Nancee Zhang. I was born on January 10th 1990, in Kitchener Ontario, but moved over to B.C when I was 5 years old. I lived for the majority of my teenage years in Walnut Grove, Langley, in a small suburban environment with elementary school, high school, and local restaurants within a few minutes’ walking distance from my house. Needless to say, when I finally left my small town for UBC after high school graduation in 2008, I was thrilled to finally enter the big beautiful city. The city is full of opportunity!

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The Girls Rock Camp Alliance is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization where girls 8 to 18 can learn an instrument, form a band, write music, and rock out with other girls. If that’s not rad enough for you, it’s also a place where girls attend self defense, body image, zine making, screen printing, and other self-esteem building workshops led by female mentors.

The very first ever Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls took place in Portland in 2001 — since then, camps have sprung up all over the world, and now more than 700 girls are mentored every year. This year, we’re sending gift certificates and Teen Booklets to the Girls Rock Camp Vancouver campers, and gift packs for the volunteers and organizers, too.

My own experience of being so profoundly influenced by the riot grrrl movement as a teenager makes it easy for me to wax poetic about how heartening and inspiring this all is.. but I’ll let the girls speak for themselves:

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Who doesn’t love a good deal? While you are going to save money no matter what with Lunapads and the DivaCup in the long term, I thought that it might be fun to create a list of all the ways that you can save even more when you shop with us. Here we go!

1. Sign up for our monthly newsletter. It’s easy, and not only will you get a $5 off coupon sent immediately to your inbox, you will be officially in the loop about all our fantastic monthly specials, new products, contests, giveaways, calls for sample testers and (to use Lunagal Sara’s term) random awesomeness.

2. Join our Facebook Page, and follow us on Twitter.  Similar great offers to the newsletter, only you get to know even faster!

3. Talk to us on our blog. This is where we post most of our giveaways, and all you have to do for a chance to win is post a comment. Subscribe via RSS or you might miss out!

4. Read awesome magazines like BUST, Mothering and Bitch. Watch for exclusive discount promo codes in the Lunapads ads!

5. Buy 3 or more of your faves. Receive discounts of $1 each with pad + liner sets of Lunapads, and $2 each for Lunapanties when you buy 3 or more.

6. Consider purchasing a Lunapads or DivaCup Kit. Our unique customized Kits help take the guesswork out of buying, and also save you 5-15%!

7. Don’t stop there: get $3 off a Moon Pad Bag when you purchase any Kit (includes DivaCup Kits - woot!)

8. In a similar vein, save $1 off Divawash when you purchase a DivaCup or DivaCup Kit.

7. Start a Buying Club with your Lunagal-pals. Buying Clubs receive 20% off every order of $300 or more.

8. Skip the shipping: Vancouver types can choose the “local pickup” option (you get to visit us!), and don’t forget that shipping is free for North American orders over $75.

9. Get a period makeover in our blog! Tell us what you’re currently using and what your cycle and lifestyle are like, and the Lunagals will work their makeover magic. Chosen entries receive a $15 gift certificate.

10. Ask the Period Fairy (verrry nicely, she can be a bit testy sometimes) Seriously - make a wish for any product on our site valued at under $50, and tell her via Twitter (use hashtag #periodfairy) or on our Facebook fan page. Every now and again she just randomly shows up here at Lunapads and grabs a few things for her fans. Wait, is that a fluttering of (organic fleece) wings I hear?

Note: Special discounts and promotions are totaled up in your shopping cart. Click the “Show Discounts Applied” link at the top right once you get there to see how much you’re saving!

Happy shopping, Lunagals!

As mentioned in a recent post, Lunapads’ “organic transition” is officially underway. Shaking things up in the fabric department has brought about the opportunity to introduce some other new fabrics, which brings me to our latest addition, 100% organic cotton sateen. Just the sound of the word “sateen” tells you a lot about this fabric - it’s light, smooth and cool to the touch.

The new fabrics have also acted as a catalyst to my designer brain, and I’m thrilled to announce some great new products. We have been making organic flannel handkerchiefs for years, and the sateen lends itself to the same purpose wonderfully, making an already soft and eco-friendly alternative to disposable tissues fabulous to boot! When I was testing the new fabric hankies I found myself collecting them in one of our Luna Pouches in my purse, and decided to make a simplified pouch for the hankies, allowing you to easily stuff clean ones back in the bag post-laundering. Check out our new Hanky Packs, which contain 3 10”x 10” handkerchiefs in a matching pouch (pictured).

I’ve long admired the Japanese tradition of furoshiki, or cloth gift wrapping, and thought that given its light weight, luxurious feel and gorgeous prints, the sateen might also work well for a Lunapads version. To that end, we’ve created 2 versatile sizes of “Lunashiki”: the smaller, 18” square size doubles as a dinner napkin, and a larger, 24” size that also works as a handy bandanna, in additon to being stylish and responsible ways to wrap gifts. These products all make great gifts themselves, and are 10% off this month!

Photo ©Sandra Vander Schaaf, with permission

This blog post is way overdue, since my “baby” is turning 4 years old this summer! My older son Aiden (4 years old at the time this was taken), is pictured here caressing his new sibling who arrived only a week after this photo was taken (by the very talented photographer Sandra Vander Schaaf of www.theartofseeing.ca). When I learned that a super hip website called Offbeat Mama had blogged about “Post partum period woes” and garnered 100 comments (one of their most popular blog posts ever!) it kicked me into gear in posting my own story about “Going with the Flow” pre- and post baby.

Being pregnant and giving birth are among the most impactful and unique life experiences I have ever had. I feel particularly blessed to have been there twice, with both births being remarkable events I will never forget.  I recognize this isn’t necessarily the case for all women (having experienced 3 heartbreaking miscarriages, not to mention having had the privilege of multiple safe birthing options available to me), so I am mindful when approaching the subject of pregnancy and birth. That said, when I sense that the listener is receptive to hearing my perspective, I become an enthusiastic advocate of birth choices, and describe my experiences and passion for the different ways women can use Lunapads and Lunapanties to support themselves during pregnancy, labour and postpartum.

Here goes!

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We actually call that color “cream”, but I used “beige” in the title in reference to a recent blog post in which Lunapanties are selected for a “beige” report at Ecosalon.com (also copped it from resident rock star Morgan’s ironic AC/DC reference in the June newsletter).

What’s the EcoSalon Beige Report? “Occasionally, the green goes beige and things take a turn for crunchy town. Granolaville. The ’70s. Introducing The Beige Report, where we cover the well-meaning, but unfortunate attempts of eco brands with the best of intentions and the not-so-best of products. First honors: organic period panties.” Needless to say, hearing this did not sit well with the Lunagals.

Fortunately a fabulous posse of Lunapanty-loving gals were quick to disabuse the writer (who was thrilled with the enormous amount of comments on her blog post) of her ill-informed notion (don’t dis them ‘til you’ve tried them was the dominant response), and a Lunapads and Lunapanties “care package” was quickly dispatched to the EcoSalon office in San Francisco. We’re looking forward to hearing what they have to say once they’ve actually tried them! Thanks to everyone who commented - it’s certainly making for an interesting conversation.

Speaking of which, we have quite the little waiting list going here for (ahem) cream Lunapanties.  Good thing they’re finally back in stock, don’t you agree?  Enjoy!

DivaCup month has come and gone (to judge by our sales, many of you fence sitters are well on your way to Divadom; let us know how it goes!), but have no fear… we are kicking off June with a silicone cup giveaway nevertheless. In this case, they’re awesome food storage containers for kids that are good for everything from freezers to microwaves, and free of nasty BPAs, phthalates and lead. They’re soft, cute, and would be a handy addition to your kitchen!

They’ve been donated by local Mompreneur Sue Sinclair, founder of Raspberry Kids, a hand-picked collection of “fresh, healthy and fun” things for kids - think top quality toys, clothing, books and accessories. I love Sue’s story of how and why she started the business - it’s amazing how often necessity becomes the proverbial “Mother of Invention” in the case of entrepreneurs I know. Want to stock up on stuff for your kids, or gifts for design-savvy pals? Use  promo code “lunapads15” at the Raspberry Kids site during checkout to receive 15% off orders. Valid on all items except electronic gift cards, sale items and the Vapur bundle.

We’ve noticed that many of our customers “make the switch” to Lunapads and the DivaCup when they have kids, which brings me to how you can have a chance to win this wonderful product. Moms, how did having a baby precipitate greener lifestyle changes for you? What changes do you feel made the biggest difference? The winner will be announced in our July newsletter - good luck!

Oh - and one more thing: for those of you on Facebook, Sue is co-hosting (along with New & Green Diaper’s Karen Randall) an awesome event this Thursday June 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30pm PST. Check out the “Must Haves for New Moms” event for great conversation, tips and prizes (we’re feeling generous too, hint) - see you there, we hope!

I’m guessing that most of you will by now have seen one of the videos by the U by Kotex marketing campaign, in particular the widely circulated “Apology” video and television commercial, in which a young woman delivers a hilarious deadpan skewering of feminine hygiene advertising clichés.

I’ll be upfront in admitting my initial shock and mildly jealous irritation at seeing what has essentially been our message for the past 10+ years being trumpeted by a disposables manufacturer.  Realizing that widely broadcasting these kinds of messages to the mainstream is simply not within our financial means, I was consoled by the fact that at least somebody is doing it.

I had decided not to give the campaign more airtime than it was already getting until I happened to view the TV ad for the Australian version of U by Kotex - “Platinum”. The ad, in which a young woman (whose hair is “great”, an attribute mocked in “So Obnoxious”, another of the video series) breathlessly sighs “Only U can take me there”, is completely absurd and falls squarely within the tradition that the other videos nominally seek to confound. The ad is so bad, in fact, that it made The Frisky’s “12 Stupidest Menstrual Advertisements, Period” list. If Kotex is genuinely sincere about presenting “a whole new attitude in protection”, why create a different message for Australian women?  Is it because Australian women are still falling for the same old message, or is this an attempt to play multiple sides of the field: those who can still only deal with blue liquid and leaping around in white spandex, and those who are ready to call a spade a spade?

I feel certain that the American campaign’s message was drawn straight from some pricey market research that told them that young women were (surprise!) pretty ok with talking about their periods and vaginal health, enjoy humorous online videos and are of the view that old school menstrual marketing clichés are kind of dumb and over. While it would be nice to think that Kotex is sincere about wanting to “Break the Cycle” (U’s social media campaign dedicated to eroding the decades of shame its own marketing has heaped upon women and girls), their mixed message to Australian women tells me that it’s more a clever move driven by the research speculated about earlier. What really gets me is that despite this new marketing campaign, the products haven’t changed, (unless you count sleek black boxes and brightly colored wrappers as meaningful innovation, which I don’t so much) - still the same, bleached disposable junk heading to a landfill near you.

Last but not least, a little sleuthing at Drugstore.com reveals that those bold, cycle-breaking neon colored wrappers are pretty pricey - while OB and Tampax are $0.19 and $0.18 each, U by Kotex are a whopping $0.30 apiece. I guess progress (or rather, fancy packaging and expensive marketing campaigns) has its price.