Lunapads

“Why are Lunapads so expensive?” has long been on of my least favorite responses to our products. While it might rankle me (“You’ve got it backwards!” I want to scream) for the unenlightened it is an natural response, particularly when you have a $7 box of tampons on the one hand and a $35 DivaCup on the other. For our part, I can assure you that natural menstrual products are as-yet no goldmine, and that while we do our best to keep the prices as low as possible, we also like to do things like pay our production partners and staff properly and patronize suppliers of organic fabric, which isn’t exactly bargain bin. That said, even for those of us who are clear on the longer-term financial savings to be had from their initial investment, not to mention the other benefits we like to talk about, what if $35 is still a stretch at the time?

Lunapads.com Buying Clubs are our answer to this question. The deal is that you get 20% off everything (including Kits, which are already discounted, plus SALE items, we mean everything) when you order with friends to come up with a minimum $300 purchase online. Shipping is FREE. Orders must be purchased by one person and shipped to one location, so it’s a great opportunity to get together with your classmates, book club pals, co-workers, etc. to open your goodies and settle up with the Buying Club Administrator. Needless to say, no other promo coupon codes can be used for Buying Club orders. Check out the full details here, and happy shopping, girlfriends!

We are looking for real, live Lunagals (other than us!) to “star” in advertisements like this one for BUST and Bitch magazines. We are offering your choice of $50 worth of Lunapads.com products to customers whose images and testimonials that we use. To apply, email us a high resolution photo of yourself with a plain background (no less than 3” by 3” at 300dpi) along with a brief testimonial about why you think that Lunapads, Lunapanties or the DivaCup are great. We hope to hear from you! info@lunapads.com

This will probably come as a surprise, but I just tried the DivaCup for the first time over the holidays and want to offer my enthusiastic testimonial. I have felt badly about not trying it sooner, but my previous experience with the Keeper wasn’t great (I found it hard to insert) and after I had my daughter almost 3 years ago I haven’t felt as inclined to use anything internal. I have very light flow and am not super-sporty, not to mention that we have Sandra’s super-knowledgeable DivaCup customer service, with Suzanne as backup, so I just let it go.
And yet I always keep my DivaCup handy, hoping that the right opportunity would come around, and sure enough it did, just a few days ago. And here’s the crazy thing: it was so easy to use I could hardly believe it. Back when we just had the Keeper, the only folding technique that we were aware of was the Double fold (still recommended for the DivaCup), which, although functional, isn’t nearly as easy to work with as the Push Down (or “Seven”) fold (pictured). If there’s anyone out there who is having trouble with the Double fold but still wanting to try the DivaCup, I strongly encourage you to give it a spin, as it were. Once it was in I didn’t feel it at all, and was able to party the night away (including a dip in the hot tub, something I would not have attempted otherwise). Thanks DivaCup, and Happy New Year to all our readers!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you already know about some of the charitable efforts we have been up to lately. Today I’d like to tell you about a personal friend and longtime Lunapads fan who is helping at-risk youth in Vancouver, and how you can help too.
Madeleine Kipling is a veritable fireball of humour and energy. The first time I met her was back when I had my store. She had just received a cheque for an acting gig and was, of all the things she could have been spending her hard-earned cash on, buying Lunapads for all her girlfriends to celebrate. She took her time and chose a different pattern for every friend (she was in a women’s comedy troupe, 30 Helens, at the time) and blew me away with her enthusiasm for what most visitors to my otherwise-clothing store found curious at best. Maddy was all over it, though, and is responsible for recruiting as many women to using washable pads as anyone I can think of.

(more…)

Attention Fashionistas! One of my all-time favorite fabrics is making a surprise comeback. “Hats & Heels” is an almost ridiculously femmy print that also includes violet purses and gloves on a scarlet background. Paired with purple fleece, it’s a no-holds-barred, non-wallflower print that can make having your period feel pretty glam. And this time I’m not making empty promises - we actually have it in stock (like, right now!) in the following Lunapads styles: Heavy, Wide Maxi, Teeny and Mini Pantyliners. P.S. the crazy brown flower print will be in stock early in 2008 - I swear on my tiara!

As Madeleine alluded to in the job requirements for our ‘help wanted’ post, having an affinity for small children is an important criteria here at Lunapads. While maternity/paterinty benefits are quite good in Canada (a full year off with pay) unfortunately, busines owners like Madeleine and I don’t qualify! So, Madeleine and I have no choice but to simply bring our kids to work with us.

Here is Garret trying to work (or perhaps trash?) my printer/fax machine. He quite happily wanders around the office, visiting whomever he wishes. Sometimes he’ll gently pat you on the back to get your attention, or he’ll sneak under your desk and steal your shoes. What I love about Lunapads is that everyone pitches in to help keep an eye on the kids. Whether it is playing a game with them, letting them make a mess on your desk, or taking them to the park, Madeleine and I are truly grateful for the loving care our kids get at Lunapads. Thank you Lunagals!

(more…)

Sadly, Marie-Genevieve is leaving us for greener pastures. We’re looking for a new Lunagal who is interested in working for about 30 hours/week at a progressive, feminist, internet-based green small business in Vancouver BC. Enthusiasm for natural menstrual products is a must, as are good computer skills, personable customer service and affectionate tolerance for occasionally discovering small children hiding under your desk. To learn more about Lunapads and our company culture, check out the About Us section on our website.
As our new Customer Service and Shipping Assistant you will be responsible for the following:
- Processing and fulfillment of internet orders
- Coordination of mail and courier shipments
- Packing and invoicing of wholesale orders
- Monitoring of inventory levels
Please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@lunapads.com.
Thanks!

In case you haven’t joined our “I heart my Lunapads” group on Facebook yet, here’s another great reason: free pad contests! In this case, all you have to do is join the group and add your idea for the name of this fabric to the discussion thread. Whoever comes up with our favorite name wins some new pads in the fabulous new fabric - woo hoo!

I know, I know. Halloween is over and done. But I am one of the world’s greatest procrastinators and so here is my Halloween post – only 9 days late…that’s almost a record for me
I have often procrastinated on getting a costume, or if I did manage to scheme up ‘the perfect costume’ in my mind, I would go off in search of what I needed only to be disappointed by what I could find at the thrift stores and call the whole thing off only to end up with the world’s lamest costume. You know those ones that everyone does, oooh, a black cape and some dark lipstick, I mean, how creative is that?!

But this year we decided to plan ahead to make sure we looked good. First off, there were 3 activities to go to the weekend of Halloween fun so I didn’t want to disappoint. The first stop was the Parade of Lost Souls, second was Marie-Genevieve’s 27th birthday party which had a rockers theme (based upon the 27 Club) and third was my pal Harry’s party. Since one party had a theme we had to do something that would work for that but would also be more than just a general ‘rocker’ look. We racked our brains and finally came up with this. My sweetheart and I were going to do our first couples costumes, and become The Knife. They are an ‘electronic’ brother/sister duo from Sweden (seriously check them out, they are so good) They get stage fright and wear these raven masks, so even if anyone didn’t get the reference, it would still be a cool and scary look.

(more…)

The following is excerpted from today’s Vancouver Sun. Article and photo: Malcolm Parry.
THAT TIME OF THE DECADE: If ever a market were systemized and regularized, it’s the billion-dollar one for feminine hygiene products. Yet two Vancouver entrepreneurs, Madeleine Shaw and Suzanne Siemens, believe there’s more than room enough for their Lunapads firm to sell non-disposable products to women who would use them for some five days out of 28. In the U.S. alone, they calculate, the 73 million women who regularly use menstrual-period tampons will each flush 16,800 of them away. In 1998, the Franklin Associates waste consultancy calculated that 6.5 billion tampons and 13.5 billion sanitary pads were disposed of annually.

Those are big numbers for former fashion designer Shaw and chartered accountant Siemens’s six-person firm. Eighty per cent of their sales are via the Internet. “It’s a natural for our 100-per-cent-cotton products,” Shaw said. “A woman will say, ‘I’ve heard about cloth pads.’ So, she’ll Google it, and Lunapads will come up in the top five.”
“And there’s no shortage of people looking for green products,” said Siemens, who was controller at B.C. Gas before she met Shaw in 1999 as participants in the Vancouver Board of Trade and Volunteer Vancouver’s Leadership Vancouver program.

Shaw’s notion for Lunapads began in 1994. As a venture-capital student at the B.C. Institute of Technology, she won $1,000 for a business plan she wrote. “When women do shift to our products,” Shaw said, “we find their whole attitude to their period, their cycles and their bodies is greatly improved. I can show you hundreds of testimonials.” She can, too. Some of the many appear on the Lunapads website. They’re not prophets or proselytizers — just two young mothers who see society-wide ecological sensitivity bringing the market closer to what they offer. “I always thought Lunapads was a product ahead of its time,” Shaw said. “Then, two years ago, I realized our time had come.”