I've noticed a lot of the girl noders worried about the safety of those bleached, unnatural sticks of cotton we ladies are forced to use.
Apart from the Toxic Shock Syndrome scares, and the uncomfort some of us feel at having a "so there", as someone called it, stuffed against our uterus (which is a clenching, painful fist at the best of times), there are also other factors to consider. The feminists for example, are all about ceasing to pay for something we can't control. The feminists are angry that the men who own the feminine hygiene companies are charging us pretty steep prices for products we literally can't live without. Frankly, they feel that it is the men who are afraid of blood, of the menses (choosing to avoid the subject at all costs) and that it is quite rude of them to be making the big bucks off of us. It is pretty irritating that a woman must pay a huge corporation because her uterus biologically sheds every month.
But then, we biologically need food, and that isn't free.
Anyway, I recently read about an alternative, which seems quite strange but might just be an answer for those who are worried.
SEA SPONGES.
They are very, very inexpensive, and obviously, ecologically sound. They're convenient because you don't need to carry a supply of tampons with you everywhere; you just take it out and wash it extremely well with mild soap and water.
Apparently they are also fun to play with in the bath. (I shrug at this).
Also, you can squeeze the blood in a jar and fill it with water and feed it to your houseplants. Apparently the plants love it. Bloodsuckers..
Since the sea sponges used to actually be alive, women claim to feel "closer" to them, than impersonal bleach-white tampons. And a note about TSS, it is very important to keep them ultra clean. Boil a new sponge before using it for the first time. Store them in a litte cotton bag. Only use a sponge for two or three months because after awhile the natural fibres tend to wear down.
One thing to keep in mind is that when the sponge is very full, it is very liable to just slip right out if you laugh too hard or if you yell. You can wear two at a time if you have heavy periods though.
Sea sponges used to live in the ocean, which as we know is ruled by the moon. And women's menstrual patterns are nothing if not lunar. So perhaps a lady might have some sort of "deeper" connection, instincively, with sea sponges than with tampons. I'm all for women getting in touch with their bodies, as we have been taught throughout the ages that bleeding is a horrid thing and that we should ignore our vaginas. (See: menstrual hut)
It seems quite disgusting, a bit like the idea that drinking your own urine is good for you really (egad!) but as with the most taboo things, it generally becomes more accepted over time. Although they may have to start putting basins inside the women's toilet cubicles, as I very much doubt many girls could handle reapplying their mascara while someone else comes out to rinse their bloody sponge right next to them.
Information obtained from http://www.f-word.org/essays/?x=muscio.html
Well, first I had this write-up in the nodeshell: An alternative to using tampons.
Then QXZ pointed out I should remove the period from the nodeshell, "so to speak".
So, LOL, I agreed. But then anthropod suggested I move it to this node which I originally thought of doing, only that I thought, but it's not a tampon. But then anthropod said: "Well, what is a tampon if not something you put in your vagina to stop blood flow?"
And I do believe she is right.
Updated:
call says: I'm not sure about the ecological soundness of sea sponge... I'm sure I recall something about their harvesting doing pretty severe damage...
Admittedly the reusability element probably means it's still a hell of a lot better than tampons.
(Just so you don't believe in the au naturel goodness of it without doing your research, folks.)