Menstrual Activism and Taboo Breaking

 

At the Red Web we believe that we can change the world, even if its just one pad at a time. Here are some ideas of ways you can get active!

 

 

 

        *Switch from disposable to reusable menstrual products. It's                            better for you and the environment!  

 

 

Mahina Cup, reusuable menstrual cup made of 100% medical grade silicone. Easy to clean and lasts for up to 10 years.

 

Holy Sponge!,  sustainably harvested sea sponges, balms, moon calendars

 

Moontimes UK, organic and re-usable pads, sponges, and cups

 

Natural Flow/EcoFemme, reusuable pads,  sponges, cups , teas and more

 

Ruby Cup  high quality and sustainable menstrual cup made of 100% Medical Grade Silicone and can be re-used for up to 10 years.

 

The Keeper/Mooncup—menstrual cups described as safer, more comfortable, greener, and cheaper than other sanitary products.                 

                                     

Diva Cup— healthy and sustainable  menstrual cups 

   

Lunapads— reusable cloth pads and menstrual cups.  They also have resources and advice for positive periods on their blog.                                               

 

Gladrags—reusable pads

                  

 

Thinx—“smart underwear” designed for women on their periods which acts as a sanitary pad.  For every pair sold they will donate 7 Afri-pads (reusable sanitary napkins, products of www.afripads.com ) to a young woman in need. 

                  

 

 

        *Join or start your own red tent circle:

 

Red Tents in Every Neighborhood, DeAnna L'am—an organization which works to build menstrual communities through red tents, workshops, and offering mother/daughter advice for discussing menstruation. 

                 

                                    

 

        *Call Your local Representatives and make your voice heard:

 

Robin Danielson Act Introduced on Menstrual Hygiene Day

Communities around the world marked the first Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, 2014, to break the silence and build awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential. Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York’s 12th District chose this as the ideal day to introduce an updated version of the Robin Danielson Bill, legislation to study the health effects of menstrual hygiene products. The Robin Danielson Act of 2014 would require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research whether menstrual hygiene products that contain dioxin, synthetic fibers, and other chemical additives like chlorine and fragrances, pose health risks.  We urge you to contact your representative and encourage them to support the Robin Danielson Act of 2014.

 

                                 

 

       *Support these organizations:

 

 

Azadi— an organization which not only provides girls and women with the knowledge and materials to manage menstruation.  They also are working to engage the community, leverage media to bring large-scale awareness, and mobilizing the people and organizations to create action all in an eco-friendly way. 

 

Beauty in Blood—an art organization which challenges you to view menstruation through a different lens as both subject matter and medium rather than the socially conditioned view.                  

                                     

Be Girl—an organization designed to empower girls and women in third world countries by providing them with sanitary products. 

                  

Crankytown—a website designed to offer information about menstruation to young women in a fun and accessible way. 

 

Crimson Movement—an organization devoted to empowering women by giving women the tools to communicate more freely about their cycles without fear or shame and thus to address some barriers that they face.  They focus on education, cultural sensitivity, social attitudes, the environment, and financial sustainability.                  

Days for Girls international—an organization working to provide girls in third world countries with reusable sanitary products in order to help them to stay in school and get jobs. 

 

Femme International—an organization which works to educate girls and women in Kenya.  Also works to provide “Femme Kits” which include menstrual products such as menstrual cups.                                   

 

50 Cents. Period.—provides sanitary napkins to women in need in India.  Also works to empower women and girls to stay fully engaged in their lives and educations without the stigma and barriers surrounding their period, gender, and reproductive choices.                                                  

Goonj..—an organization which provides women in India with sanitary cloth for sanitary napkins. 

 

Huru—an organization working to provide women in third world countries with sanitary pads.    

   

Irise International—an organization which works to provide an affordable and sustainable sanitary product and to offer menstrual health education. 

 

Juju­—a company which manufactures menstrual cups—an environmentally and physically healthy alternative to pads and tampons. 

                                 

Menstrupedia—an organization devoted to educating young women about menstruation in a positive and healthy way.  They also work to dispel negative myths around menstruation. 

 

Pasand—an organization working to provide women with jobs manufacturing sanitary pads which will keep girls at school and women at work. 

                  

Paree—an India-based company which sells menstrual products, answers questions on menstruation, and is working to reach out to girls and women alike as a resource.                                 

 

Period Makeover—a group devoted to researching how hormone imbalances can affect our day-to-day health, how we can change our lifestyles to live a more balanced life with our cycles.                   

 

The Period Project—an online organization of period-positive artists, writers, etc. dedicated to spreading information about women’s health and sexuality of all times.  Their goal is to start a conversation about menstruation in a positive light ant to create a community.                                                  

Plan USA—an organization working to provide sanitary products and education about menstrual care to women in third world countries and poor communities. 

                                                       

Save the Children—an organization working to assure global health.  They have education programs within which they teach people (children and adults, women and men) about menstruation, HIV/AIDS, and other STIs/STDs. 

                  

SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises)—an organization working to provide loans and instruction to women in developing countries in order to help them to start manufacturing sanitary pads from banana fibers.  This allows more women to be consistently employed/attending school in areas where menstruation is taboo. 

 

Society for Menstrual Cycle Research—an organization which strives to provide guidance, expertise, and ethical considerations for researchers (in the social and health sciences, humanities scholars, health care providers, policy makers, health activists, artists and students), practitioners, policy makers and funding resources interested in the menstrual cycle. 

                                  

TwoRags—a company which donates feminine products for each pair of cotton underwear that they sell. 

                  

                                    

The 12th Right—an NGO devoted to helping women stay in school by providing them with menstrual products and education.  Their goal is to remind women that health is their right. 

             

 

Transformation Textiles—an organization which distributes reusable underwear and pads as well as offering menstrual education to women and girls in third world countries. 

 

V-day- global movement inspired by Eve Ensler to end violence against women and girls

                                                     

 

Vikal P Design—an organization which is working to provide youth-accessible education, education products, and sanitary napkins, and to promote openness about a woman’s cycle. 

                  

The Waratah Project, an initiative to influence the way we collectively think about menstruation and menopause away from old notions of shame and towards a more positive and woman-honoring way of understanding these universal aspects of female experience.

                  

WASH United—an organization working to promote health through sanitation in developing countries.  This includes developing activities around menstrual hygiene management to specifically address the most neglected WASH issues in the schools context. 

                 

The Women’s Quest—an organization which works to help women and girls establish a physical and spiritual connection with their cycles through workshops, tracking, and education. 

                  

World Toilet.org—an organization devoted to sanitation and health.  Their work includes helping with menstrual education in order to 

Youth for Seva—an organization which works to introduce menstruation as a topic of conversation and to thus reduce its taboo.  It also helps to educate girls and has doctors and gynecologists on hand.                        

 

Zana Africa—an organization which works to help make pads, deliver health education, and inform policy in Kenya.