No Man's Land

If you are offended by the mere mention of feminine hygiene products, read no further. Come back in a few days when I've posted some nice recipes at the top, with pretty pictures of fruit.

I read some horrifying statistic in a green report once that went something like this: "If you think disposable baby diapers impact the environment, remember that babies only wear them for a few years. Women use tampons and pads monthly for decades." (Yeah, don't remind me.) I could try Lunapads, or sea sponges, but I'm just not quite there yet. But I knew I had to do something better if I could.

For a long time, I was not willing to break away from my conventional tampons and pads. I'd be willing to bet that consumer loyalty, even multi-generational consumer loyalty, is high in that area of consumer products. If something works, you keep using it, and if it fails you once, that's once too often. So I was leery of trying Natracare products for the first time.

But I did, and they're great. The cotton pads are more comfortable and breathable than traditional plastic-coated pads. The tampons are available in no-applicator, which avoids lots of waste, and regular applicator. The applicator is made from biodegradable card. All of the packaging is recycled and recyclable. You can read all about it on their site if you like. I'm just telling you, it's ok to give 'em a try. If all you do is switch pads, or switch to a conventional non-applicator tampon, you'll be reducing waste and chemicals just a little bit more than you did the month before.