Wednesday, March 19, 2008

goods for girls

Goods for Girls

some of you may have seen those 'tampax' and  'always' commercials that talk about girls in south africa missing school because they don't have adequate protection during their period. the maker of disposable maxi pads claims that they donate a portion of proceeds to providing young women with supplies so they can attend school.

i hope i am not the only one who sees a problem with providing a developing country with a product that just makes more plastic waste. waste that is most likely going to be burned, releasing toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. it occurred to me pretty quickly that reusable pads might make a more logical and sustainable solution to this problem.

well, i'm (thankfully) not the only one who thought of this! an organization based in seattle called Goods 4 Girls is accepting donations of new reusable pads, as well as money, to provide women in several african countries with menstrual supplies.

you know what's even MORE awesome? our own vancouver-based Lunapads is offering a special discounted supply kit that will be sent directly to the Goods 4 Girls organization.

for all you crafty types out there, the Goods 4 Girls site has a bunch of patterns for making reusable pads. so grab some of those scraps of soft cotton you have lying around and make a maxi or two! i know i will.

let's not allow another global multi-national corporation to impose their products on developing nations.