Selfsufficientish.com

sorry guys- i know i've already got a page on the site but i thought i'd do another plug!!
I make and sell washable pads- now i know a lot of women find the idea of them pretty awful!! but i believe that washable pads are not a step back in time- they are a step towards a cleaner planet :)
did you know that the average woman in the western world uses about 12,000 sanitary products during her life- I love these facts and figures! In the UK we buy more than three billion disposable sanitary items every year; in 2001 we spent £370 million on them!!!
four million tampons and pads are flushed away every day in the UK, adding to marine pollution -It takes a tampon six months to biodegrade, a plastic sanitary towel liner lasts indefinitely. Flushing sanitary protection causes 75% of blocked drains- so costs us as well as the environment!
then there's the issue of the maufacture of 'disposable' products-despite being white disposable sanitary products are NOT sterile!!
Tampons are made from either cotton, or a mixture of cotton and rayon. Use of cotton of course raises issues of fair trade, pesticide use and genetic modification. Rayon is chemically processed from wood pulp. Disposable sanitary towels and panty liners are also made mostly from wood pulp, bleached from its natural brown colour. Chlorine gas was originally the bleaching agent used, and was a source of dioxin, which is a known carcinogen- can you believe that?
Luckily due to lots of campaigning from The Women’s Environmental Network they now use either chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide. As a result of this and reduced use of chlorine in other processes, dioxin levels in the environment are tending to fall. However, dioxins are still occasionally detectable, in trace amounts, in mills and in the pulp. Dioxins released during chlorine bleaching and plastics manufacture have been shown to cause cancer, miscarriages and damage to the immune system and toxic shock syndrome.
A study of 20 tampon varieties concluded that 100% cotton tampons did not produce the dangerous toxic shock syndrome toxin while tampons with rayon in do-plus buying 100% organic cotton tampons reduces pesticide use and avoids inadvertently using products containing GM cotton. It also supports the development of organic cotton production.
so if washables really arnt your thing- at least take a step towards positive change and buy organic tampons or pads. (avaliable from most good health shops)

if you are interested in finding out more about my washables (made from flannelette and organic fairtrade cotton and hemp) email me at womens_workshops@yahoo.co.uk
Rachael xxxx
With every breath I take today,
I vow to be awake;
And every step I take,
I vow to take with a grateful heart--
So I may see with eyes of love
into the hearts of all I meet,
To ease their burden when I can
And touch them with a smile of peace

I think some women are coming round to the idea of alternatives. After all, the disposable versus real nappy debate has been raging for years, and it doesn't take a huge leap of logic to realise that sanitary towels, etc create similar problems.

Good for you for producing the sanitary pads. Another idea is the mooncup, which lasts for about 10 years and has the advantage that it doesn't need laundering: see www.mooncup.co.uk.

Thanks for your comments- i think it's important for women to know what the alternatives are- for women who dont like the idea of washable pads i like to recommend the organic cotton tampons and pads, the sponge and menstrual cup. The cups are worn internally and are either made of rubber (The Keeper) or silicon (Mooncup); they come in two sizes, pre and post childbirth. if you are intersted in these items doing a web search on there names sould give to a site to purchase them from. otherwise there is the ' moon sponge'- Sponge Tampons are natural, reusable sea sponges. They are a safe, efficient, dioxin- and rayon-free alternative to the ordinary single-use fibre tampons, sponge is an ideal renewable resource that provides an ecologically sound product for menstrual use.

Although vegans dont like them!! Personally in my role as a Menstrual Awareness course leader i like to urge women not to be afraid of their blood, and let it flow out. So many of us are “independent, tampon-dependent post-modern women" and are so disconnected to our nature as bleeding cycling women. The tampon alternatives are a step closer to being connected to our blood as we must handle and wash our blood away- and with washable pads the soaking and rinsing can become part of the wider more spiritual connection of our menstraul awareness.
one woman wrote to me saying-saying “I love my washable pads- for me they are about getting away from the attitude of 'stick in a tampon and forget your bleeding' and more about honouring your menstruation and the earth. I love watering my garden with my moon blood (from soaking my pads)- I make the whole ritual a sacred ceremony- it's a beautiful thing to connect to your cycle, the moon and the earth...and to other women.â€Â

Greetings from Perth

Thanks for this plug.

My wife and I are on the search for just this - will probably be in touch soon.

Before I found this site I purchased a mooncup and have used it for the last couple of cycles.

I feel liberated! I never got on with pads, was very concerned with the health aspects of tampons and disliked the amount of waste these items created. The mooncup has proven secure, even on my heaviest days and I would recomend it to any woman not afraid of being intimate with her body.