What I did for Earth Day, 2011

I made a big change for Earth Day this year. It's a change that isn't noticeable to others, thank goodness, but I'm quite aware of it and the impact it will have.

If you're a dude...or squeamish about girl things like periods...I'd stop reading right now. Seriously.

This Earth Day I made the switch from disposable feminine products to a Diva Cup. I've been hearing about things like Diva Cups and Luna Pads for several years now, but the potential ick factor was just too much for me to handle. I've long been {painfully} aware of the high cost of buying feminine products each month, but cost is really the least of their implications.

As consumers, we have to worry about the environmental impact of growing the cotton (does the farmer use pesticides?), the environmental impact of the manufacturing process, transportation, the health impact of wearing something that was grown with pesticides, then bleached during manufacturing, and don't forget that we throw them away when we're done with them. So you can see there are a number of issues that have been nagging me to make this switch for a long time.

The catalyst that made me finally change was a humorous and informative blog post at Midnight Maniac entitled: Green Your Period. (Thanks, Rebecca!) If you're on the fence, or need more detail on how this contraption works, then read Rebecca's post because it's full of answers to all of the questions you might have. And because I'm not really going to talk in any more detail about periods other than to say that I love the Diva Cup, I don't know why I waited this long to try it, and I will never go back to disposable feminine products again. Period. {bad pun intended}

Make the switch!