The moon is a curious thing...

So, another conundrum for another day:

To moon cup or not to moon cup, that is the question.

I'm becoming more and more aware of my own carbon footprint and that of my family. I hate the thought that my being here is of detriment to the Earth on which I live. I've started trying to grow my own crop. I walk as often as possible and I use cloth nappies. I point blank refuse to tumble dry my nappies and try not to use the tumble dryer (with a family of six, and the very fact that we own one makes this difficult during particularly rainy weeks... oooh the tepmtation... :P) when the line makes clothes smell nicer anyway! I also (don't tell anyone ;-) ) *whispers* breastfeed (ssh!) I try to limit the amount of harmful chemicals we use in the home by using alternate cleaners and most of our meals and snacks are home made from raw ingredients.

I know that there is more I could be doing but I am trying to make an effort where I can.

This brings me onto the subject for this post. Menstruation and it's impact on the environment. Like most women, I currently use "conventional" sanitary protection such as disposable tampons and towels. (Primarily the former.) I first heard of the moon cup approximately three years ago and was at best mildly intrigued and primarily just grossed out! I'd much rather put "normal" products in my Asda trolley thank you very much! It struck me recently though that this is a pretty hypocritical approach to be taking - heck, my babies use cloth so why shouldn't I? So I started looking into cloth towels.


But I don't know. I just can't seem to get my head around that one! I guess periods to me are pretty nasty (because to most women of course they're wonderfully liberating and loveable experiences :P). I find it an extremely depressing part of life. What it does to my moods, what it does to my skin, what it does to my pain levels and my already pretty bloated gut... It's just all round unpleasant. The thought of having to have any more to do with it than absolutely necessary just doesn't seem to compute so having to actually remove the towel, deposit it for storage until the washload is ready and then have to actually handle the towels once they're done with... I think I'll stick with my trusty Tampax and Lilettes if it's all the same!

But then it's not is it? The same, I mean. Being that your average sanitary towel will take approximately 800 years to bio-degrade, every towel that I've ever used (and everyone used by my fellow menstruating compadres) is still out there somewhere, slowly festering in those oh-so-quickly filling landfills. This exact thought converted me to the way of cloth nappies and here I am, happily picking a packet of Always off of the shelf and throwing it into the trolley...

So, if using cloth pads doesn't appeal then perhaps it is time to go back to the moon cup and give it some serious consideration.

According to what I've been reading, the average woman contributes approximately 11,000 tampons or pads to our existing landfills in her lifetime. We're quickly running out of space and ruining our planet for good measure. Surely it's about time that we started giving a hoot about what we're doing to the world around and what messages we're handing down to future generations.

And then there's the cost. I'm spending on average £4 per month on sanitary protection. Sure, a Mooncup retails for around £18 and that's over four times as much money. Difference is of course that a single Mooncup should last you for several years.

My main concern over the practicalities of Aunt Flo and the Mooncup were when your only facilities are communal - not sure that I'd feel too comfy standing next to an unsuspecting innocent old lady while I rinse out my menses! But having done a bit of digging, it turns out that the moon cup will last much longer than your average tampon and due to the fact that it doesn't absorb natural protective secretions, or embed foreign fibres into the surrounding skin, there's no need to change it so often. Therefore, with a tiny amount of forethought, this one "issue" shouldn't become an issue at all.

I think I'm ready to take the plunge and give this a go. I care about hygiene, I care about the environment and I care about my not-so-deep pocket.

Life presents us with countless choices. I think that as a society, we need to start realising and understanding that those choices often have an impact that's incredibly far reaching and that may affect not just ourselves and those around us, but the entire planet.