alteranative menstural products

[synapsepi.livejournal.com]

So I want to try sea sponges. The only ones i found at whole foods were "natural cosmetic silk sea sponge" does this mean they are made of silk? and are these safe to use as long as I boil them? any tips and sugestions?

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Sea sponges specifically for menstrual use are available all over the web.

Silk worms make silk. Natural sponges are actually from a sea animal. So no, they aren't made of silk. The only association I can find that make sense is that sometimes painters use either a "silk sponge" or a "wool sponge" when painting. Perhaps one's fluffier on the outside, one's smoother. Perhaps they're actual species. At any rate, they're not real silk. If you don't like using dead-animal products on/in your body, sponges might not be for you.

[synapsepi.livejournal.com]

my only concenr with them being a dead animal is to make sure they arn't being killed off by being harvested. I eat meat, so I don't really have qlaums about putting a sea sponge in my body. If I saw a live sea sponge I would thank it for letting me use it for my menstural period, but i'm wierd like that. Are sae sponges harvested from the ocean and is this bad for the enviroment, or are there sea sponge farms?

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

They're harvested from the ocean. I'm sure that like fish, they're harvested sustainably in some cases, maybe most, but not all. You could look for trusted company names, promises that the sponges they use are sustainably harvested, and hope for the best. Areas where sponges go are often environmentally distressed -- they're experiencing stress from irresponsible fishing and diving, water temperature changes, etc. -- so though I'd use the occasional sponge, I'd try to make very sure my sponges were coming from a non-damaging harvest process.

That said, the production of cotton tampons is also often environmentally very stressful. I might get a couple of sponges and use them sometimes, "Instead" cups sometimes, consider the Keeper (I'm not going to spend lots of money for a Keeper because I lose things, and because my arthritis would often make it difficult to use, but I know folks who swear by it) . . .

I often use several different products to protect my clothing within one cycle.

[synapsepi.livejournal.com]

thank you very much for the input, i appriciate it. as I said, i'm not apposed to eating animals or using there products, but I like to treat they ethically while alive and be responsible in there use after there forced death by humans. I saw a comapny sea pearls online that says they get there sponges from a farm, so I will try to buy from them next time.

[smartyskirt323.livejournal.com]

there's something about this in the archive.

a link to a website for sponges.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

http://www.jadeandpearl.com sells them. they sell a package with 2 sponges, instructions, a small bottle of tea tree oil (for disinfectant if you want to use it) and a little breathable bag to carry them in. I've had good luck with their product and they seem to me to be the sort of company that would harvest sponges sustainably, although i don't know that for a fact. I hope that helps you out. I've been using the sponges for a few months now and I like them a lot - I think they're more comfortable than tampons and I feel better about using them in an environmental sense as well. Good luck!