Lunapads Blog

In Lunapads mythology, Once Upon A Time there was a fair young maiden (yours truly!) who aspired to make the loveliest washable menstrual pads in the land.  She toiled endlessly at her sewing machines day after day, week after week, and (natch) month after month, until she created something she was satisfied with.  She asked her mirror, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which are the fairest pads of all?”, to which the mirror replied “All pads that are made with love and respect for women’s bodies are truly fair and lovely.”  Love that mirror!  I passed along the task of sewing Lunapads to our noble production partners many years ago, but I continued to sew all manner of clothes and household linens right up until my daughter was born just over 4 years ago.

Since that time, I must confess that gardening has captured my creative heart (easier to do with a 4 year old, as well!), and so I was a bit nervous to pull out my rulers, scissors and 20 year old domestic single-needle machine to make this video - did I still have the magic?  That verdict will have to be in the eyes of the beholder of the video, but for my part it was really fun in a “blast from the past” kind of way.

Part 1:

Part 2:

The videos and pattern download were created in response to two needs: first, as a possible option for those who can’t afford Lunapads, or to support those who prefer to make things themselves, just because. Second is to offer it as an instructional tool for women in Africa to make pads for themselves and/or as commercial products, as well as for crafters in this neck of the woods who want to make pads to contribute as donations to Pads4Girls (more on that in the next post - stay tuned!)

A note on the video: it is not about how to make Lunapads, which requires a far more complex sewing process (not to mention 3 different fabrics and 2 different sewing machines - eek!)  Rather, it is an easy, adjustable pattern that can be made with a single-needle domestic machine and a wide variety of fabrics.  You can download the pattern here.  I encourage you to experiment with different fabrics and closures, and have fun!

In Vancouver, while there are many lovely stores to purchase mama, baby and earth friendly products, one of my favourites is Little Earth, located right beside my midwives clinic.  Run by Mariska and Flavia, Little Earth carries unique, high-quality childrens clothing and toys, as well as consignment clothing for mamas-to-be and children.

In honour of Mother’s Day and to thank the amazing Mamas who have supported them, Little Earth will be hosting a Free Mommy Make Over Day.  So, if you are a local Vancouver Mama, consider treating yourself to some pampering.  While you’re there, please consider doing some shopping that day for the little ones in your life, as Little Earth is generously donating 10% of all sales on this day to our very own Pads4Girls program! Deets below…

Join us for a day of well deserved pampering and treats!

There will be professional make up artists, hair stylists and Indian head Massage all for you!  10 % of all sales on this day will be donated to Pads4Girls.

You can pre- book to secure your spot, but walk-ins are always welcome.
Where: Little Earth
When: Sat May 9 noon-4 pm
Who : Beautiful Mama’s and Mama’s to be
How :  Pre-book 778-737-7004

littleearthvancouver@gmail.com

Since meeting one another, Madeleine and I have shared many special moments both personally and professionally.  The summer of 2002, for example, was amazing:  Madeleine got married and I gave birth to my first son, Aiden.  Buying our own office space in 2007 was another important business milestone.  This past week saw another major highlight:  spending time with Peggy O’Mara, publisher and editor of Mothering magazine, and hosting a fundraising tea party in support of Pads4Girls with her as the guest of honor.

As Madeleine referenced in an earlier post, we bumped into Peggy last month at a trade show.  Knowing she was coming to Vancouver for the Healthy Families Conference, we invited her for tea at Lunapads.  As we planned the event, we also learned Peggy had no particular plans while visiting Vancouver, so Madeleine and I took it upon ourselves to be her host and show her our beautiful city.  After picking her up at the airport, we headed to Tojo’s, one of Vancouver’s most creative sushi restaurants (Peggy lived in Japan for several years in her teens) and, over a delightful west coast meal, we chatted about being moms and entrepreneurs. What immediately struck me was that despite her celebrity status (in my eyes, anyway!) Peggy is just like us: a devoted mother and mission-based entrepreneur with whom we share similar goals and business challenges.

The next day, we transformed our bustling office into a open meeting space.  Held as a fundraiser for our Pads4Girls program, 30 women, mostly mompreneurs in the birthing or baby industry, gathered to hear Peggy speak.  Madeleine and I savored the incredible energy that built up as each woman arrived.  We listened to Peggy talk about her career’s humble beginnings on her farm in New Mexico, raising four young children, and how she purchased and grew Mothering magazine to where it is today.  If you want to read more about Peggy’s story (and other inspiring passages) I highly recommend you refer to the Mothering site here for archives of Peggy’s editorials.

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I thought that this was an interesting video, pointing out that we often treat the Earth the same way that our culture objectifies and disrespects women.

It was with interest that I learned of Grist.org’s “Screw Earth Day!” campaign, as I agree (at least in principle) with the idea that our collective responsibility is a 24/7/365 commitment, not just a day.  Same goes for Earth Hour, which, although impressive with respect to its results, in my mind can engender the idea that it’s enough to do it just for an hour, rather than making a permanent practice of reducing our energy consumption (SED!’s premise.)  The neo-eco movement can feel at times like a form of cultural greenwashing, what with all the new dubiously “green” products and marketing campaigns that seem to be cropping up everywhere one turns these days.

But then I take a second look - where does my cynicism come from, is it useful, and how does it square with my belief in small efforts and gestures having a potentially enormous impact?  Isn’t it better than doing nothing, or at least worth trying, considering what’s at stake?  Maybe if I stopped debating whether or not it’s a perfect solution or not and just got on board then we’d all be the better for it?  Seems a timely question, given the current political debate here in B.C. over carbon tax. Further to the “not arguing about perfect solutions and just getting on with it as we are able at the moment” observation, as a parent I appreciate the critical value of educating our children and being role models to them (Suzanne is doing this as I write, and I feel certain we will be hearing about it here!)  Events like Earth Day and Earth Hour are great ways to do this, particularly in participation with our communities.

For me, in the end it all comes back to personal responsibility.  Am I an eco-perfectionist?  Not by a long shot.  But I also believe that we can all try harder.  On that note, a little shout-out to the Lunapads staff, all of whom are great examples of various green practices: as cycling activists and commuters, vegetarian and veganism advocates, conscious consumers and DIY crafters.  Thanks ladies - you’re making a difference in so many important ways.

As a final antidote to my skepticism, I’d like to highlight some of my favorite green organizations and reading lists.  The Environmental Working Group is a vast repository of information about everything from safe cosmetics to pesticide use in commercial produce, and has an excellent newsletter.  The Vancouver Public Library has compiled an extensive list of books about sustainability, and our pal Annemarie Templeman-Kluit (aka Yoyomama - Vancouver’s source for everything anyone with kids needs to know about in this town) has posted some of her family’s fave green reads in her new blog here.  Our friends and colleagues over at SPUD and NatureBag have teamed up with Lavish and Lime to offer an incredible eco-products giveaway contest - find out more here.  Last but not least, Mindful Mama has just launched a great new natural parenting website in honor of Earth Day - way to go, everyone!

I hope that you all find a meaningful way to celebrate Earth Day - today and every day.

Our friends at Babeland (formerly Toys in Babeland) are celebrating Earth Day with style and fun at their Brooklyn location.  It’s free, it will be a blast, and the first 50 participants will receive a gift bag including goodies from Lunapads and Babeland - what’s not to love?  There will be product demos including green sex toys and lubes, plus an informative presentation about Lunapads and the DivaCup by Jayne Freeman, aka Mamarama (be sure to check out her blog & amazing videos).

The deets:
Eco-Sexy Earth Day
Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm
462 Bergen Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217 map
Phone: 718.638.3820

Have fun, and happy Earth Day!

Good news continues to come our way about initiatives bringing cloth pads to women and girls in Africa.  As discussed in this earlier post, millions of girls and women in Africa do not have access to adequate menstrual supplies.  Sadly, girls stay home and miss important school days because they have no means to deal with their period while at school.  While Proctor and Gamble have their “protecting futures” campaign (donating disposable pads to girls, thus creating a long-term waste problem), partners in our Pads4Girls initiative provide girls in rural areas of Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya with a sustainable alternative: Lunapads!

While we recognize supplying cloth pads to girls and women is an important step, there are many others in Africa helping to take this initiative one step further.  Several colleagues of ours are building programs to train women to make the pads in their own community, thus creating employment and income for women.  Here are a few examples:

Sapna Dayal of Imagine1Day will be bringing Lunapads with her to Ethiopia in May with hopes to build skills and employment for local women to make and sell cloth pads.  When Carrie Jane Williams travelled to Uganda last fall to bring Lunapads to Uganda, she helped orchestrate the production of “AfriPads” right there on the spot.  While she was there, she met a young couple who became so excited by what they saw, that they are now completely devoted to getting AfriPads off the ground.   Pauls Grinvalds and Sonia Klumpp have plans to launch a six-month pilot project to determine the feasiblity of manufacturing and distributing cloth pads to the girls in Kitengeesa, in the Masaka District.  Paul and Sonia’s plans were featured in one of Uganda’s national newspapers: the Daily Mirror.  Hopefully this press will stimulate greater awareness of the problem and some funding for their project.  Please pass on the word on their behalf.

Recently we learned of an even larger cloth pad manufacturing program that was inspired by Lunapads.  Last week, I attended the annual Ethiopian dinner of Partners in the Horn of Africa. This Canadian charity works in Ethiopia and directs 100% of the donations directly to projects that involve building schools, bridges, wells, and providing group homes and centres for HIV orphans.

A niece of one of the board members showed her aunt a Lunapad, and from there, the idea of replicating our cloth pads in Ethiopia took off.  In 2008, a Partners-funded pilot project manufactured and distributed 20,000 modified Lunapads and 2,500 Lunapanties for girls in a rural school district near Addis Ababa.  For every $5,000 they invested in this project, over 7,000 more school days for girls were added.  We had no idea this was happening and are so happy to hear about the trickle effect Lunapads has already made in Ethiopia.

Partners also provides microfinancing for women entrepreneurs, and a result of this pilot project they will be expanding the program to set up a manufacturing facility to make 200,000 pads and employ local women.   It was inspiring to hear John Baigent, the Executive Director of Partners, talk about the cloth pad program so passionately to a group of 200 supporters at the dinner.  I was amused to hear that John has achieved “rock star status” among the women and girls because of the profound impact the cloth pads have brought to their community.  Hmm, I’m imagining John channelling Annie Lennox and leading the girls and women in a chorus of ”Sisters are doing it for themselves!”

The Partners cloth pad pilot project was made possible by the generous donation from a group of mothers in West Vancouver called Mom and Me.  Each Mother’s Day this group holds a family dance and in 2008 they raised almost $25,000 for the Partners cloth pad initiative.  I hope to attend the event this year with my family and would love to see this fundraising model replicated everywhere.  Because Partners covers all the administrative costs, 100% of the donations go directly towards the projects they fund.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if more groups replicated this idea and supported this initiative?

It’s April and we’ll be kicking off an exciting month focused on Pads4Girls and community outreach.

To help support some of our current partners going to Africa, we’ll be holding a Pads4Girls Benefit Tea with Peggy O’Mara at Lunapads on Friday, April 17th.  More details forthcoming in a future post as we finalize our plans.  Needless to say, I am buzzing with excitement about having Peggy here at Lunapads.  I have been a reader of Mothering Magazine for 6 years and a huge fan of Peggy’s books.  The magazine and website has been a constant source of information and inspiration for me as a mother.

Also this month, Lunapads is a sponsor and exhibitor at the Healthy Families conference in Vancouver.  In addition to key note speaker Peggy O’Mara, this two day event will feature speakers and workshops with topics to help build community for our children at home and in school.  I am looking forward to establishing new connections and gathering ideas on how to strengthen the relationship between family, children and community.  The event is April 18 - 19th and you can get tickets here.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes in our global community, momentum is building for projects like AfriPads.  Over the next few months, we will be closely following the journey of a young couple (Paul Grinvalds and Sonia Klumps) who are working in Uganda with plans to make cloth pads.  We were introduced to Paul and Sonia by Carrie-Jane Williams, who is also busy networking with other folks to help make her dream of pads being made in Africa happen.  Next week, Madeleine and I are attending a benefit dinner for Partners in the Horn of Africa, a not for profit organization that works in Ethiopia to provide infrastructure improvements, health and welfare and women’s anti-poverty projects.  We hope to learn more about how individuals and organizations are helping to make the lives of girls and women in Africa better and how Lunapads can help.

In the meantime, please continue supporting our partner organizations in our Donate section.  Thank you!