Another Earthy Yule Gift: Cloth Menstrual Pads

"The average woman throws away about 10,000 pads or tampons in her life. In Australia alone this is over 1,385 million disposables per year which are either incinerated (bad for the ozone layer...) or put into land fills (where the plastic backing will take approximately 500 years to partially biodegrade...)." (MoonPads.com)

Here is another suggestion for an ecological Yule/Christmas gift for a girlfriend, sister, or daughter. These will save her money and save the planet. You can purchase a kit of cloth menstrual pads or a reusable cup like the Keeper, Diva Cup or MoonCup from these sites:

gladrags.com
lunapads.com
moonpads.com

Or at your local health food store like Whole Foods.

Or you can make your own cloth menstrual pads. I recommend cute, dark flannel and sturdy snaps. Get a pattern by following the cut of a purchased one, or try Jan Andrea's site (a great place for patterns for all sorts of natural cloth items like baby carriers and nursing tops).

Then make a lovely baggie to hold them in. I love the Velvet Vulva - what a way to celebrate our monthly moon blood! You could go simpler with just some dark velvet or brocade. Make a simple bag with a draw string top. Here's a drawstring bag to knit. What a perfect place to store your homemade or purchased cloth moon blood pads!

If this is for a girl who has just hit menarche or a woman who needs some help loving her blood, you could throw in a copy of The Red Tent or Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing. Or how about a homemade necklace or dark red beads and a goddess pendant? Or a dark red journal to record a woman's sacred thoughts?

This year and always, celebrate a woman's inner power by gifting honor, respect, and blood love. Or make a kit like this for yourself, maybe to celebrate a change of life, or just because you deserve it.

Love to all!



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Image of the red tent above from Women Bringing Change to the World.