Lunapads

It’s time to have some serious fun with our menstrual activism, don’t you think? There have been recent stories of how some big name companies are having their customers make ads for them, and showing them during prime time TV - even the Superbowl. Ladies, what do you say? We just know that there are at least dozens, if not hundreds of super-creative, totally tech-savvy gals out there who could come up with something, funny, fabulous, political and gorgeous - just like you.

We think it’s about time to do away with the silly ads for menstrual products that encourage us to either hide our periods, be embarassed by them or that haunt us with that strange blue fluid. Time to let real women be heard. To that end, we’re launching a contest to get you, our beloved customers to make your own ad for Lunapads.com!

The entry process is simple. Create an ad for Lunapads.com and put it up at YouTube with “Lunapads” as a keyword. Deadline for entries will be March 31, 2007, (NOW EXTENDED TO APRIL 30) at which point the staff here at Lunapads will vote on their favorite. The winner will receive $250 worth of their choice of Lunapads.com products.

We’ll also highlight the top 10 videos that we receive and ask customers to vote for their favorites, the top 3 of which will each receive $100 worth of Lunapads.com products.

For resources on uploading your videos to YouTube click here.

Be creative, have fun, and drop us a line at info@lunapads.com when you’ve put your entry up so we’re sure not to miss it!

I felt a little bummed writing about my disappointment with people who take a “light green” stance, but the good news is that there are also lots amazing women out there doing some fabulous work in the world and saying lovely things about Lunapads.

There is a wonderful review of Lunapads here at Feminist Review.

We have also been rated at StyleHive, so if that’s a haunt of yours, please post your review or wish list.

Lunapads is getting right into the so called “web 2.0” world where users don’t just read about stuff on the web, they can change and create their own material!

* We have launched a Youtube contest. See our blog post about this fabulous and creative contest.

* Lunapads also has a MySpace page and we are looking for friends, so add us to your list.

There are also some great printable posters here at the Canadian Women’s Health Network site that have powerful things to say about the overuse of prescription drugs, vaccinations and using hormonal birth control pills to suppress periods.

Last but not least, for those Vancouverites among you, there is also a screening of “Period: The End of Menstruation” happening on Feb. 16th at Rhizome Cafe (which is a really amazing, progressive, Earth-conscious and delicious cafe located not too far from our offices). The video screening will be followed by an interactive panel discussion elaborating on topics covered in the film. They are asking for a $7 donation at the door to benefit the Canadian Sexual Health Educators Network, but no one will be turned away. The film begins at 7, but you might want to show up earlier to get a good seat. Lunapads will be there as well offering door prizes, so perhaps we’ll see you there!

Any other cool ideas or progressive sites that you want to share?

We are thrilled to be adding PeaceKeeper lip paint (lipstick), lip gloss and nail paint to our comfort collection at Lunapads.com. While it may seem like a bit of a stretch from menstrual pads to makeup, PeaceKeeper is far from your average cosmetics company, and we thought that our customers would appreciate the innovative work that its’ founder, Jody Weiss, is doing (not to mention her great products!) Whatever your personal views about makeup may be (and we’d love to hear them), I think that we can all agree that it’s a staggeringly massive business that often uses questionable ingredients and testing practices, uses its marketing to make women feel inadequate without its products, exhibits practically no social or environmental conscience, and… lots of women use it, ourselves included. So what if there was makeup that was made with all-natural ingredients, wasn’t tested on animals, and was made by a woman-owned company that gave all its after-tax profits to help causes like violence against women and cleaning up the planet?

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I’m often awestruck at how infrequently feminine hygiene products are mentioned in those handy “20 everyday ways to save the planet” lists that show up in magazines, and how even environmental advocates often minimize or trivialize the issue. A current example: for those of you not already familiar with the Grist, it’s an environmental news and journalism site. Just a few days ago their advice columnist, Umbra, was asked to comment about reusable vs. disposable pads: here’s the article. She says that “reusable pads edge out disposable pads in the imaginary fight for eco-status”. Edge? Imaginary?

I looked at her earlier post on the topic from March 2003, where in reference to disposable pads and tampons she says “What we have here are small, popular disposable products, and generally speaking, the environmental impact of small objects is not worth fretting over (electronics being an exception). Even if we had a complete data analysis of the waste and pollution implications of manufacturing tampons and pads, you ladies in the throes of womanhood know full well that there are other important factors at play in “sanitary product” choice, such as convenience, price, and comfort. Not to mention sanitary-ness, whatever that might be. Even if you do want to reduce your contribution to this minor environmental woe, there is a shortage of options in the moon-mama market.” News to me! According to the National Women’s Health Network, over 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons are used once and disposed of annually, clogging our overburdened landfill sites, not exactly what we’d call “minor.”

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I first heard of Lunapads on the message boards for my favorite science fiction author, Orson Scott Card. One of his forums is designated for members to talk about anything, and someone had started a thread to complain about the difficulty of purchasing larger size bras in Sri Lanka.

Reusable menstrual products were mentioned in passing, but I was immediately intrigued. I’m the kind of person who has a separate trash can for recyclables, so the large amounts of garbage for pads always bothered me, but I didn’t think a greener alternative existed.

I’ve been using Lunapads, Lunapanties and the Diva Cup exclusively for the past nine months and I love the combination. You might not find hearing such praise remarkable on Lunapads’ own website, but I am a twenty year old student who shares a bathroom in a college residence hall with twenty other women. I am a double major in Mathematics and Astrophysics. Most people look at me funny when I tell them I’m majoring in Astrophysics, but I study Astronomy because it’s fun. I love operating large telescopes, and I actually get paid to show my fellow students planets, nebulae and star clusters using a 150 year old, 15 foot long refracting telescope.

I’m pretty busy with my work at the observatory and my classes, so I only find the time to do laundry when I run out of socks. Fortunately I have lots of socks.

Using Lunapads is not as impossible or as gross as you might think, even in an institutional setting such as mine. With disposables, I would put every single pad in those little white trash cans attached to the toilet stall, where it would sit until some poor (male) janitor emptied the box. Often there would be no bag to line the container, and some women didn’t wrap their pads in toilet paper. I’m pleased to say that no other person, paid or not, has to deal with my menstrual garbage anymore.

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Happy New Year from Lunapads!
I’ve always thought that New Year’s resolutions should be about things that you want to do, as opposed to things that you want to stop doing. A few on my list for 2007 are to take better care of myself, to remain commited to my self-healing work, to allow myself to fearlessly get bigger, to take some pesky chips off my shoulder, and to be more in my power. Looking over the list it seems a little me-centric, but that’s part of resolution - I have this bad habit of feeling like if I’m putting myself first then I must be pushing someone else to the back of the line. Pure nonsense, I know, but it keeps showing up as an issue, so we’re back for another round. To date, I’ve started seeing a wonderful post-partum counselor and cranio-sacral therapist (this is what happens 21 months into denial about post-partum depression!) and booked myself a trip to Maui with a girlfriend, so I’m feeling off to a good start.
What about you? What are you looking forward to, wanting to work on or do more of in 2007?

There was a story in one of our national papers today about one of the downsides of having a doula at your birth. It had the annoying title “Aggravated at birth” with an illustration of a pregnant woman being pulled in two directions: one by a hospital nurse and another by a doula. While it is nice to see a mainstream newspaper write about doulas (women who provide coaching and support to birthing moms and their partners) I was dismayed to see the negative angle being highlighted. The story presented the view that doulas are buidling up hostility between themselves and hospital nurses due to differences in philosophy about birthing. While it is unfortunate that “extreme” doulas like the ones described in the article do exist, not all are like this, and they don’t need this kind of PR.

I was assisted by a doula for both my births. My first birth was in a hospital and I was surrounded by strangers (my doctor was on holidays) so I was grateful for the familiar face of my doula in the birthing room. She was encouraging, never pushy and never got in the way. She had techniques for me to manage the pain and gave lots of support to my partner too. In retrospect, I wished she was more vocal when my doctor insisted on giving me an episiotimy. I remember looking at my doula feeling stressed about the situation, but she just quietly watched and let me make the call. I reluctantly gave in to the episiotimy, but the experience made me determined to have a more gentle birth the second time.

The second time around, I had a great team of midwives and felt more confident about birth. I was surprised when they asked me if I was considering a doula for my second birth. I thought I didn’t need one, but I’m glad I opted for a doula again. Aleksandra, (pictured here with my son Garret) was not only extremely knowledgeable, but she was very much in tune with my needs prenatally and during labour (and I was much more clear about my needs the second time around too.)

In my view, a doula is an essential person to have at your birth (and a great pre and post natal resource too). Just be sure to hire one who fits your needs and personality. Don’t assume that she will speak up for you and make decisions for you, and don’t let her run the show. Get referrals from other moms, and make sure you establish a good connection with her. The last thing you want is someone who is inflexible and doesn’t really understand what you want… especially in the throws of full on labour!