I’m going to begin this post with a warning. This is a post dealing with feminine product choices. If you know me in real life and/or are male, consider yourself forewarned. If you think this may distress you or affect our in person relationship, please, by all means, DO NOT READ THIS! Now that I have warned you, we’ll be moving on.
For the past few months I had been toying with the idea of trying out reusable menstrual products. This is not something I ever thought I would consider doing. I thought it was gross, creepy and frankly, disturbing. But as a cloth diaper mom I realized how much cloth diapers were saving us money and I wondered if I could do the same with menstrual products.
I have always had irregular cycles so I don’t have to deal with menstrual products as often as most women, but I also have heavy cycle. So when I buy them, I have to buy a lot. I hate how much they cost, I hate how they feel and I hate disposing of them. I have been trying to pursue a greener lifestyle in concert with frugality. I’m not going to spend more to be greener, but I’m happy to reuse and avoid buying new whenever possible.
The first aspect of reusable menstrual products, also known as mama cloth, I decided to investigate was cloth panty liners. I’m one of those women who use panty liners on a daily basis. I have been doing this since I was a teen and I have to use a specific unscented brand or I have a bad reaction. That being said, I was distressed at the thought of how much money I had spent and waste I had produced in panty liners alone in the last 15 or so years. I began investigating my options.
I was a bit distressed at how expensive many of the popular products seemed. I really wanted to try Lunapads and Gladrags, two popular brands but both were very pricey not to mention shipping. I did the math and figured out it would take me five or more years to break even. At least one of the points of this was to save money.
Then I discovered that I could buy a three pack of Fuzzibunz liners for $11 and a three pack Gladrags liners for $22 on Amazon.com. While the Gladrags still seemed too expensive I went for it.
Fuzzibunz $11 on Amazon.com (now $19) with free shipping
Fuzzibunz pads are made with the same quality as their diapers. But I quickly learned that I preferred cotton for daily wear rather than micro-fiber. I was also distressed to find the pads too short for any real use. My daily use disposable panty liners are 8 inches long, these were barely over 6. They slide around too much and the microfiber was sweaty. But I was pleased at how washable they were. Let’s just say they didn’t exactly do the job I bought them for.
GladRags $21 for 3 from Amazon.com with free shipping
GladRags were definitely more comfortable from a breathability perspective. But I felt the construction was not a sturdy as I’d hoped. They seemed like they might wear out too quickly. I had read marvelous reviews of the Gladrags pads, but mixed reviews on the panty liners. I guess now I know why.
They did slide around a bit, but not as much as Fuzzibunz. They were longer too, around 6.5 to 7 inches, but still too short. There were also too narrow. When I snapped them onto my panties the center panel was bunched up, and I only wear a size 6 or 7 panty. I can’t imagine how these would work for a larger gal.
I will continue to use them, but I still wasn’t completely happy, especially with the price. If I had ordered directly from the GladRags website I would have paid closer to $29 for three panty liners, plus shipping!
Caroline’s Creations – 3 pack for $8.99 (now $9.99 no longer free shipping)
Then I decided to take a risk on Etsy.com. I found a seller who makes 8 inch panty liners and I could get a three pack on sale for $8.99 (usually $9.99). This seemed like a phenomenal deal, especially since she offers free shipping on any order. So I took a risk and ordered a three pack.
My husband was getting slightly annoyed at me by this point since he thought the whole thing was a little weird to begin with and was concerned about how much money I was potentially putting towards this endeavor. But my risk paid off. These pads were wonderful and so much more economical.
The flannel was soft, the size was perfect and they almost never bunched up or moved around. The seller even pre-washes the fabric so that they shouldn’t shrink when washed (which is what happened with the Gladrags). Yes, they do feel different than a disposable panty liner, but after a couple of days I hardly noticed anymore.
I actually missed them when I had to start using disposable pads while traveling over Christmas. All of a sudden the disposable panty liners seemed itchy and uncomfortable. Sometimes the cloth pads do still move around, but so did my disposable panty liners from time to time. At least with the cloth I don’t have any hair being pulled out by sticky adhesive. Ouch!
I wish I could recommend this Etsy seller to all of my friends (that is assuming I could even bring up the discussion given that most of my friends think I’m crazy just for using cloth diapers). Her shipping my fast, the quality of her items was great and she even included a coupon to use off my next order. I recently ordered more pantiliners and some menstrual pads from her. While I haven’t had a chance to try out the pads yet, I was again pleased with the quality of work and service provided by this seller.
I absolutely love this seller! I can’t say enough about her products, her prices and her service. She even custom created light colored panty liners for me. They ended up being a perfect match for my favorite pale peach panties.
Have you ever considered how much daily use panty liners cost and the fact that they end up in a landfill? Ever considered the alternatives?
So glad people are starting to talk about this. I too have tried the “mama cloth” option and, though I could only purchase one, loved the idea. I don’t have children yet, so the easiness of just throwing the liners in with the cloth diapers is not a option {yet!}. But even with not having that type of regular laundry, I found my liner to be wonderful. So soft, NOOOO irratation, such a cute print…I would like to buy more eventually. I bought mine from a line called Party in my Pants (partypantspads.com) which I thought was hysterical. I’m not completely “green” but love not exposing any more chemicals to my body than necessary!!! (but I’m not giving up my hairspray!!!) haha
Trust me, we’re not complete “green” either. I’m not ready to give up my industrial strength deodorant any time soon. The way I look at it, is that if each of us makes a few changes, everyone will benefit. Not everyone can live in a house with solar panels and grow all of their own organic produce. But we can reuse, recycle and make green choices that fit into each of our lifestyles best.
I REALLY want to try out mama cloth but just haven’t been able to spend the money. I keep getting mad at myself everytime I find myself at the store buying disposables yet again. I think I’m going to maybe finally take the plunge after reading your review! I’m going to check out the Etsy seller you mentioned!! Thanks!
Thanks sooo much for this great review. It was JUST what I needed. I was considering both fuzzibunz and gladrags but had reservations. I checked into the etsy seller you recommended and am ordering from her! They are a great deal and can’t wait to try them!
I know that each person is different so it is hard to find a pad that everyone loves. But I figure that if you have to take the initial plunge, it might as well be with as little financial investment as possible. At this point I have a pretty substantial stash of mama cloth, most of which comes from Caroline’s Creations. Are they perfect? No, but they do the job best of anything I tried and for significantly less money. Hope it works out for you.
They seem great so far, thanks again for the recommendation!
Thanks for writing about this! I also research ‘weird’ things like this that my husband doesn’t understand 🙂 I can’t wait to buy mine from the Etsy lady!
I’m glad you found the post helpful. I wrote in in part because I couldn’t find a similar post when I was doing my own research. Hope you find a cloth product that works well for you. Good luck!
Thank you for the very informative review, I’m looking forward to ordering from the Etsy lady 🙂
My fav is mother moon. She offers two lengths in her custom orders. I use pantiliners daily and hers are the best for me. She is also on etsy. So glad I switched. Worth every penny, and so soft and not aware they are there.
Awesome review! I have been trying to find ways to be a little better about how much I waste and the chemicals I use and use close with my body. I also use liners on a daily basis and have been looking into getting reusable ones but my only concern is laundry? I don’t have kids and it’s just my boyfriend and me. I don’t want to buy a bunch of them or do laundry constantly to keep up. Any suggestions?
Well, if the liners aren’t too soiled (as in not bloody like a period) then you can just throw them in with your towels when you wash them. That’s what I used to do when I was between kids in diapers. If you can sew, they are fairly easy to make yourself for much cheaper (not that I’ve tried it). I found that with doing laundry once a week, that 9 usually does the trick for me (though 12 is better). I’m not picky about pattern so I tended to buy whatever was on clearance from Etsy sellers to fill out my stash. I think I did the math and figured out that it would take me a bit less than a year to break even, and five years later I’m still using them, though I probably use a few new ones.