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Today's washable pads for
menstruation and a directory for
old washable pads on this
site
{Two contemporary makers: Party
In
My Pants and Glad
Rags)
When haven't
women used washable menstrual pads
in our society? Cotton menstrual
rags hanging out to dry were a
feature of many an American- and
European-city landscape. Often
users soaked the bloody rag in a
bucket overnight to loosen the
stain, then washed it the next
day. [Read my thoughts on what
European and American women used in the
past.]
For women with money, the
disposable Kotex
(for COtten-like TEXture) pad,
developed from bandages made in
the First World War for American
soldiers in France by
Kimberly-Clark, was a boon in 1921
and thereafter, enabling them to
forget about Sears, Roebuck
menstrual traveling kits - I kid
you not; see
it at MUM! - and the like.
The texture was cotton-like,
because women were used to cotton
and the new Kotex was made from
wood pulp, making it cheaper. But
not cheap enough for the poorer
woman, who still relied on the
cotton rag, or similar cloth, even
today.
But with the heightening of
awareness among women in the 1970s
and 1980s, individuals and small
companies revived the washable
pad. Women comfortable with their
bodies, and willing to spend the
time required for the care of the
pads, found the colorful and
sometimes "wild" pads a delight.
The next three pages show a tiny
selection of what is available
from mostly mail order companies
in the United States, Canada and
New Zealand. In the future I will
tell you how to contact the
companies.
See a
modern, beautiful bowl to soak used
menstrual pads in.
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Washable
menstrual pad with underpants
Elastic bands hold this modern
flannel pad in underpants made by
the pad manufacturer Glad
Rags (another maker is Party In My Pants). Pads come
in all kinds of colors and
patterns, and often have fillers
to vary the thickness (and
therefore absorbency) of the pads.
An
official of a large menstrual
products company visited MUM and
saw washable pads for the first
time in her life, although she
had heard of them. Probably 70
percent of MUM visitors have
never heard of today's washable
pads, and probably 90 percent
have never seen a menstrual cup.
And these are intelligent,
informed women.
Someone
wrote MUM the following in March
2006:
"About washable
pads: there are quite a
few moms who have work-at-home
businesses making these things. I
find them to be far superior to
Glad Rags. This page shows several
styles:
http://www.diaperware.com/mooncare/mooncare.htm
See also the patent medicine
Cardui,
Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's
letter appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's
medicines, and Orange
Blossom medicine.
© 1998
Harry Finley. It is illegal to
reproduce or distribute work on
this Web site in any manner or
medium without written
permission of the author. Please
report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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