charity: giving back those “lost” days

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thank you for your help!

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charity: donate menstrual pads

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bamboo pads and other new products

Finally! I've finished 34 new regular and ultra cloth pads and have put them up for sale at my store at Cloth Pad Shop. Lots of great new things, based on my experiments and observations. First of all, I shortened the length of the regular pad by 1 cm and made the two ends the same shape and size (the original regular pad has the back a bit longer and wider).

Then I added channels in the center of the regular pad so that the fluid remains in that area as much as possible, without spreading to the wings.

And finally, I changed the shape slightly so that the two ends can be folded in and the wings snapped over them. Doing this makes a sort of package that is very easy to carry when you're out and about.

The ultra pads are the same as before.

I have also introduced the new ecological cucicucicoo line: regular and ultra pads made with only bamboo velour (while the classic pads have cotton terry cloth on the inside) and cotton PUL as waterproof layer. Bamboo is considered a very ecological plant. It doesn't require pesticides and it absorbs more greenhouse gasses and releases more oxygen than does cotton. In addition, it is naturally anti-bacterial. Bamboo velour is super soft and very absorbent. These pads don't have anything synthetic in them, except for the lamination on the back side of the PUL, which doesn't come in contact with the skin. These pads are like a caress!

Even better, cucicucicoo bamboo velour pads (both regular and ultra) have the new features I wrote about earlier: center channels for distributing fluid better and the shape that can be folded into a "packet."

Right now I have three colors of bamboo velour: light blue, dark pink and green, even though my stash of green is all gone, so if you like it, there's no time to lose!

cucicucicoo shop on vacation

Seeing as I'm leaving for my holidays July 5th and coming back August 20th, my shop at Cloth Pad Shop Europe will be closed for the months of July and August. When I reopen in September, there will be lots of new products, so don't forget to come take a look!

new types of pads

Up until now I've made my pads with a top layer of microfleece or suedecloth (except for pantyliners). They're fabrics that you can't find in Italy (or at least I've never found them there nor have I ever heard of anyone else managing to) but they're great for cloth menstrual pads and diapers. They are wicking materials, meaning they pull whatever liquid that gets on them down into the absorbent layers below, leaving the the top surface much drier. It's really incredible to see how much a pad (or diaper) can get wet without feeling wet.

But quite often people aren't totally convinced because these materials are synthetic. In theory, fleece is made at least partly with recycled plastic bottles, so it's a little more ecological in this sense. But most people who use cloth products don't want to use synthetic things if at all possible. Their biggest worry is that they're imagining jackets and other things made with thick fleece. Microfleece is a totally different product. It's very thin (and suedecloth even more so) and really soft. It doesn't irritate the skin at all, nor does it make you feel too hot in the summer. Actually, disposable pads are much more irritating first because they're full of chemicals (read here for more on that) and, being made of plastic, they don't let the skin breathe and it can feel quite sweaty "down there."

But I decided to see for myself and try some pads without these wicking fabrics. After all, lots of pad makers don't use these special fabrics, including most of them at Cloth Pad Shop, where I am also a seller. So I made three new pads to try out personally. They are, from left to right, with cotton flannel, regular cotton and bamboo velour. And I found that they do absorb quite well and the bamboo velour one is super soft and makes you feel really spoiled. The velour is also organic and naturally anti-bacterial. But when these types of pads get wet, they stay damp on the surface. I still prefer pads with microfleece and suedecloth, but I've decided to start producing some pads without those materials for those who still really prefer not to use them.

cloth menstrual pads

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