Grist-picked, but still ticked!
Lunapads on Technorati
Last week, we were delighted to learn that our very own Lunapads Maxi Pad was picked by Grist among it’s review of eco-minded feminine products. Of course being picked is a bonus, but to us, it was great to see that Grist chose to cover the topic at all. Grist does environmental journalism with “news about green issues and sustainable living”. Grist strives to “to tell the untold stories, spotlight trends before they become trendy, and engage the apathetic.” Kind of like treehugger.com, but more light-hearted. Sarah Van Schagan covered the topic nicely, and will be doing a follow up story about tampon alternatives like the Diva Cup this week, so stay tuned!
However, one of their columnists, Umbra Fisk, gets me going every time she takes a “lite-green” stance on subjects near and dear to my heart. In her post in 2003 called “menstruation innovation”, prior to weighing in about natural alternatives like cloth pads and menstrual cups, she prefaces her comments by saying: “What we have here are small, popular disposable products, and generally speaking, the environmental impact of small objects is not worth fretting over.. 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.”
Excuse me? Not worth fretting over? Minor environmental woe? Is 14 billion pads, tampons and applicators going into North American landfills every year minor? That’s like saying that we shouldn’t worry about buying bottled water and switching to cloth shopping bags because, individually, we can’t make a difference. OK, maybe things have changed in the past 5 years and Umbra has seen the light. Nope. Last week, Umbra decided to weigh in on the cloth versus disposable diaper debate in her post called “Much a Poo About Nothing”. Well, we’ve posted about this issue before and know it isn’t easy always being green.
Using a cute but rather silly video, Umbra over simplifies the issue and completely missses the boat.
Not only do I disagree with her assessment (by lazily using a flawed 2005 study from the UK that has since been revised to state the opposite) that cloth and disposables are an environmental wash, but she doesn’t address the health impact of using disposables. Most disposable diapers use super absorbent polymers that can be harmful to babies (especially boys). Disposable diapers are made with pulp from virgin forests and laden with plastic that sit in landfills for 500 years. Yes, cloth diapers use water and energy to manufacture and clean, but water is a renewable resource and today’s high efficiency washers and dryers make a huge difference too. Her conclusion that it is a wash and not worth fretting over allows the apathetic to remain apathetic, which goes against the Grist mandate to engage the apathetic.Why do I care so much? Well, not only did I use (new and hand me down) cloth diapers on both my babies (and some elimination communication when ever possible) but it is obvious to me that this debate works equally well for the cloth vs disposable menstrual products debate. (ie: pad/tampon disposables are made from pulp, use chlorine bleach and leach dioxins in tampons, contain harmful chemicals and gels to make them more absorbent, etc.!)
If you care to weigh in, please do so here. Better yet, set up an account with Grist and tell Umbra what you think by commenting on her post!�
November 15th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Wow, I am very much with you on this whole issue. My niece who just turned one is very sensitive to disposable diapers, and my sister has used cloth, for that reason plus the cost factor as a young parent.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Once again, if we don’t do our parts, individually, how can we begin to make a difference globally? No act is too small when it comes to saving this planet for future generations!
November 17th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Lovely ladies of Luna -– I’m an editor at Grist, and wanted to thank you for the mention. At Grist, we believe as strongly as you do that individuals can make a real difference — whether it’s by supporting conscientious companies like yours, shopping for local and organic food, or changing that apocryphal light bulb. But we also strongly believe that the climate crisis cannot be solved through consumption choices alone.
That is the underlying theme of Umbra Fisk’s message: that focusing exclusively on “paper versus plastic” questions (or, in the case of diapers and sanitary products, disposable versus reusable) allows people to lose sight of the even bigger impacts we can all have –- things like making our homes energy efficient, driving less, flying less, and pushing for political change.
This doesn’t mean anyone should ignore the so-called small steps. It just means there’s a need for steps both big and small. If we are going to tackle the climate crisis, we need to be willing to do both. (Check out Umbra’s list of personal actions that make a real difference.)
Thanks for all that you do to get the word out about the importance of these issues!
November 17th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
While I agree that the efforts we need to undertake in order to make a real difference go beyond “paper versus plastic” I can’t understand why anyone would ever try to undermine the importance of the smaller steps by telling people that they won’t make a difference in the bigger picture. By telling people that the only way to contribute is by buying new appliances, renovating their home and buying a new vehicle, you end up disenfranchising a HUGE group of people who can’t afford to do any of that. People who live in rental housing have no control over the appliances that they use or the renovations that take place in their building. Taking care of our environment is not solely the responsibility of the rich and belittling the “smaller” efforts of the rest of us is not in the best interest of the planet.
The fact is that when people making small changes they inevitably lead to more and larger changes until you do have a big picture effect.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Yes! Thank you so much for this. The issue of re-usable menstrual products and cloth diapers are really one and the same. Using the reusable products requires so little effort, yet the impact is so huge and important. Thank you, thank you, for all you do!
November 18th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Morgan, definitely a good point. I’d just quickly add that the steps I mentioned — making your home energy efficient, for instance — can be undertaken by anyone. And the beauty of them is that they’ll almost always save you money on energy bills, etc. Umbra gets a lot of letters from renters, and has given advice on, for instance, how to insulate windows or adapt high-flow toilets in simple ways that save money. So it’s not about sinking big bucks into something — just thinking about your impact on all levels.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Katharine!
Why are you implying that using reusable products means a lot of trouble and costs a lot of money?
It seems to me that you have never tried them yourself!
I say that because if you had tried, you would have experienced how convenient and money-saving it is to use reusable products.
Next time, please consider trying things out before writing about them!