September 2006, Volume 2, Issue 7
 This Month: Wipes Shmipes! Let’s take a look at all that goes into a disposable pad, shall we?!We’ll start from the inside out.First you have the pad, often made of layers of plastic and wood pulp. This is fitted with adhesives and the paper you tear away from the adhesives to stick the pad to your underwear. If it is a thin pad, there is often a chemical gel-like substance that allows the pad to be absorbent and thin at the same time. In many pads there is also that layer of woven plastic that is meant to wick away moisture. Now that’s a fun thing to toss into the landfill and have sit for centuries.
Moving on, we come to the plastic wrapping that packages each individual pad in every box. This is marketed as efficient and economical because it allows women to wrap used pads in this plastic and throw them in the trash. Good, because goodness knows we can’t have any exposed pads in our trash cans. We can’t forget that box that contains all these individually wrapped wonders and beckons to women in the feminine hygiene aisle of their local pharmacies. This box seemed to be the end of the waste line. That is, until we learned that a mainstream disposable pad company has added another step to the trashing process. This company is now equipping each of their pollution-packed pad pouches with flushable wipes (the wipes themselves are in a plastic wrapping on the side of the pad wrapper). These wipes are meant to help a woman stay clean. And I know what they mean. There’s nothing worse than having that dried blood on your pubic hair stick to that plastic pad and yank on all of those nerve endings as you pull down your underwear. And second to that, there’s that horrible smell of menstrual blood, not to mention just feeling downright dirt-ay. Jeez I wish I were a man. NOT! How about a nice, soft, reusable, sustainable, healthy, all cotton pad that would never dream of pulling on those precious hairs. How about a revamped idea of female fragrance that embraces it as a natural and beautiful thing. How about loving the flow and seeing it as a cleansing process that gives you a fresh start each month? We think all these wipes and disposable gizmos are creating a problem not solving one! This company is holding us over a cliff, pulling us back onto the land and asking us to thank them for saving our lives. The lesson for this month: don’t limit your exposure to mainstream media and advertising. Creating even more trash for our precious planet to suffer and making women feel dirty cannot be what’s best for us. Let’s think twice or even thrice about the information we absorb (no pun intended!) and make our own vision of our exquisite bodies and their glorious cycles! |
   |
| Vintage Pad Ads We’ve been doing some sleuthing and found these vintage ads introducing Curads’ and Kotex’s new, modern, disposable way of taking care of your monthly embarrassment.Don’t you just love old-timey ads? They seem so silly and really show us how much we’ve progressed as a society. Why just the other day we were giggling at a disposable pad advertisement that told women about the feminine wipes that were going to be attached to pads so that women can feel fresh and clean. As if menstruating is a dirty thing. Ha! How old-fashioned. Oh, wait a minute, that wasn’t an old ad at all…(see above)Okay, so maybe we haven’t moved forward that far in our attitudes towards menstruation. Perhaps we should look at some really old advertisements to show us what women could be saying about us 90 years from now if we don’t step up and embrace the flow! Ads for Rags! If you have some old magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal or Harper’s dated 1923 and earlier, and they have some feminine product ads, let us know. We want to build our collection. Send us a minimum of 1 magazine with a feminine product ad in it and we’ll send you a FREE PAD. This offer is good for 1 free pad per customer. Domestic shipping addresses only. Again, this offer is ONLY good on magazines printed before 1924. Offer does NOT work for ads pulled off the internet. Offer lasts through 12/31/06. |
 Friend of the Month: MelissaName: MelissaHometown: Downers Grove, IllinoisAge: 33
Profession: Social service sorts of stuff Interests: I like cooking food in my slow cooker, putting Burts Bees lipstuff on my dog’s lips, sea kayaking, wandering around (especially at night when the light coming through people’s windows is all warm and glowey), lying in bed with my girlfriend, and talking. Dreams: Well the other day I was dreaming that it was christmas and so I was walking across the sky at night to deliver gifts to my family in their condo that looked like one from the Jetsons. Number of years/months using menstrual alternatives: Um, I think I’ve been using GladRags and sea sponges since I discovered them back in Iowa City, IA in 1993 or 1994. Reason for switching to alternatives: ’cause throwing stuff away is dumb. Favorite thing about alternatives: I get kind of excited when I get a new set of GladRags. It’s not that exciting to get a new box of crinkly sounding, ugly disposable stuff. Funny anecdotes: Drying GladRags on the dashboard of your car while you’re on a road trip is cool. |
 Save 25% on Regular Cotton GladRags Extras! Holders are great for your super light days or great if you need a little extra protection with your sponge or cup. Extra inserts are great to have on hand if you need a little extra absorbency. Stock up now! Good on the following products:CLEL - Regular Cotton Inserts CLEH - Regular Cotton Day Holders CLNEH - Regular Cotton Night Pads HoldersSpecial lasts through September 30th. Use coupon code NL0906 to redeem this offer. Offer cannot be used with other offers. Click here to view GladRags Extras |