Green Friday: For Women's Eyes Only. It's "That" Time of the Month

I am linking up again today with Deb over at Menopausal New Mom, who is spreading the word about the Pacific Garbage Patch. Please take the time to watch her eye-opening video clip from Oprah (it's very short, but extremely powerful). If you'd like to write your own green post and link up with us today, please feel free to grab our button below.

Before I get into my own green goodness, Stephanie over at Babes Rockin Mami wrote an excellent green post this week--- you should check it out here. I love Stephanie because she's not afraid to tell it like it is and she feels just as passionately about our Earth as I do. Plus she has a hippie-ish background (in her own words), so she's been at this a heck of a lot longer than I.

Also, Juney over at 3! A Charm is being a good little greenie this week by making her own produce bags! Pink and flowers? How cute can you get? Check them out here. Juney has been blessed with the crafty, creative gene, whereas I have not. I really wish I could make my own bags like these. I think she should open her own Etsy shop, don't you?

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Grag our button & go green with us!



Now, I realize this is a subject none of us really likes to discuss, but in the interest of being GREEN, I'm going to go there. And you're going with me, like it or not. Let's hold hands and skip, shall we? Guys, if you are still reading, it's time for you to click off. Final warning! Off you go, MARCH!

Ladies, meet Natracare. I made a switch a few years ago to mostly organic tampons and pads. I also prefer tampons without applicators because they create less waste. Did you know that most tampons contain bleach and/or chlorine? I don't know about you, but I don't want those chemicals inside of me for several days each month. Still not convinced? Then read this, sent directly to me in an email from one of Natracare's representatives, Theresa White. It's mind boggling. Please share this with your sisters, daughters, friends, cousins, aunts, and mothers:

Every year over 45 billion feminine hygiene products are disposed of somewhere. In 1990 over 12 billion sanitary pads were land-filled or incinerated in the United States and Canada alone. Approximately 90% of the materials used to make a single conventional sanitary pad or liner, as well as some claiming to be “natural” are produced from crude oil. One pack of 14 conventional sanitary pads yields the equivalent of just over 17 sq feet of plastic! Plastic is a synthetic material and NEVER biodegrades. Plastic is forever. Over time, it is broken down by sunlight into smaller and smaller pieces, all of which are still plastic polymers. Even this degradation process can take a very long time. It has been estimated that just one disposable diaper or sanitary pad can take up to 500 years to degrade! Using plastic laden feminine hygiene products only adds to the increasing plastic pollution.
For more than 21 years, Natracare has done much to lessen the environmental impact of sanitary products on our planet by producing a full range of plastic free natural and certified 100% organic cotton tampons, sanitary pads, panty liners and wipes as well as nursing pads, post partum maternity pads and certified organic cotton baby wipes. They are totally chlorine free (TCF), biodegradable and compostable. They are safe for septic tanks and made from sustainable and renewable resources.

Natracare is not just content to provide high quality products that are both better for the environment and for women’s health. Consumers can feel confident that Natracare can substantiate its environmental claims with its International EPD (Environmental Product Declaration). This measures the carbon footprint of the full lifecycle of a product including the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted from raw material extraction to manufacture, transport and the disposal stages. Natracare is the first feminine hygiene company in the world to achieve this and in a commitment to offset their measured carbon footprint of the Ultra Pads, they are supporting the Woodland Trust to plant and lifetime manage trees.

For more information on our environmental commitment or products, please go to our website http://www.natracare.com/

'Nuff said. Deb pointed out to me that this is much the same principle as coffee filters, which come in white and "natural brown." Seventh Generation also sells natural brown paper towels. Have you ever stopped to notice or think about how many things are pristine white just for aesthetic purposes? And have you thought about how they got that way? I don't know about you, but I don't want The Father Load drinking coffee laced with chlorine and who knows what else! And for my own health and well being, I certainly don't want those chemicals near my, a-hem, lady parts. To be honest, part of me wonders if this impacted my fertility and inability to conceive. Perhaps not so far fetched if you really think about it. But maybe I'll never know.

So be aware. Educate everyone you know. Read labels. Be informed.