We are sad to say that Go Real cannot take the credit for
the idea of holding Reusable Menstrual Products Week. The credit goes to Rachel
Myers, read on to find out how and why she wanted us to do this!
“I first stumbled across Reusable Menstrual Products when I
was exploring the world of cloth nappies for my babies. My initial thought was
‘Gross!’ but the more I looked into what they were the more I wanted to know. I
was already using cloth nappies on my babies due to disposables causing
horrible nappy rash and we found cloth to be so much kinder to their bottoms.
Every month I would dread my period due to the horrendous
cramps, I hated how disposable pads felt all hot and sweaty, tampons were
always so uncomfortable, and without fail every month I would develop thrush
just to add to my discomfort, but this is all part of the curse of being
female, right?! It was just something I had to put up with and suffer through.
The more I researched about Reusable Menstrual Products, the
more I heard people talking about how comfortable they were and how they no
longer hated their menstrual cycle (I know, they must me mad! How can anyone
LIKE their ‘Monthly Curse’?!).
I decided I had to give it a shot, anything was better than
the current solution of hiding in my bed with a hot water bottle, chocolate,
strong painkillers and a tube of Canesten cream. But how could I find out more?
There were a few groups on Facebook but you had to really hunt to find out what
you wanted to know and even more searching to find where to buy them, a lot of
the information was word of mouth.
One evening when discussing this in a Facebook group I said
what we really needed was a campaign similar to Real Nappy Week, where you can
find all the information you need to know in one place and for one week sellers
run competitions and discounts for those who are looking to switch. We started
talking more about how it would work and what sorts of things we could do to
spread the word about Reusable Menstrual Products.
The next day a friend of mine, an environmental activist and
Eco-blogger said she was keen to get the idea off the ground. We set up a group
of cloth pad makers and sellers started to talk more about the idea, she then
told me she had been contacted by Go Real who wanted to help us host this
campaign.
Over a year later and we are preparing for the first annual
Reusable Menstrual Products Week in October. We have a week long campaign set
up with information and giveaways. We have the support of over 20 businesses including cloth pad makers, menstrual cup
companies and eco-friendly shops who have kindly donated products and prizes.
And we also have a team of 43 women across the country who have been given Demo
kits to take round their local communities and spread the word face-to-face
about the wonderful world of Reusable Menstrual Products. There will be various
events happening online and around the country that we want people to get
involved with and invite you all to find out more, whether you are looking to
make the switch yourself or you are looking to help a friend or family member.
There are many benefits to switching to reusable menstrual
products including health, financial, environmental and even psychological.
Whatever your reason for trying Reusable Menstrual Products you can find out
more information on the Go Real website and make sure you are following us on
Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss any of the campaign.
Let’s get talking about Reusable Menstrual Products.”
Rachel is still very much involved in RMP Week. We talk with
her most days about ideas and she volunteers on our Facebook page!
#PeriodTalk #DitchTheDisposables #RMP2015
