How Our Cloth Journey Started

Our journey in using reusable cloth products started when a good friend gifted me a set of cloth diapers for my newborn son. I was really grateful for it because it saved me money from buying disposable diapers. Who doesn't want savings, right? 😁

The more I researched about cloth diapers, the more I loved the idea that aside from the savings it can give us, we were also helping Mother Earth by not adding waste to our already overflowing landfills. 

I also found out that plastic, which is part of disposable diapers, takes about 500 years to decompose. I began to compute and was appalled to think that the first ever disposable diaper used in this world is still somewhere out there in a landfill! I can only imagine how many diapers my child will contribute to that mess before being potty trained. 😢

Seven months into our happy cloth diapering journey, I’ve got my period back. I began to think that there must be a better option than disposable napkins for my period too! I began to research again and saw options like using silicone menstrual cups and cloth pads. Together with my sister, we decided to try using  menstrual cups first and we were both happy with it. But for my aunt who lives with us, who was never married, she did not like the idea of using menstrual cup. So I started to look for another option for her..

In one of our mommy groups, there was a group buy of China-made cloth menstrual pads. I bought enough for all three of us and we never looked back!

That time was a milestone for us, because finally, the whole household is on trash-free period, and the kids were on trash-free potty!

Binibining Lakambini

 Later on, we were inspired to create our own line of cloth pads. We wanted to improve the design of the old ones we used and have them readily available here in the country. Most of the really effective and highly praised cloth pads can only be sourced abroad, and the price can be really steep. We  wanted to bring back the old ways of using pasador that our elders were accustomed to.

Of course, we designed it to be more pleasing to the eye and more suitable to fit our modern lifestyle. Because we like all pretty things! And so Binibining Lakambini was born! We are so proud of our #fabpasador. 

What I observed since I started using cloth pads is that is my menstrual cycle became lighter and shorter. It has normalized to just 2-3 days, in fact. I also find that cloth pads are much more comfortable to use. There is no plastic or adhesive that chafes on my inner thighs and no stifling heat down there (which is obviously caused by the plastic backing in disposable pads).

I also realized through my research the huge amount of synthetic materials used in disposables products. Because of our mentality that for a thing to be clean, it needs to be white, so the cotton used in sanitary napkins  and tampons (and diapers) are bleached to extreme whiteness. There are also chemicals that turn liquid into gel to help prevent compression leaks. Aside from all that chemicals, artificial fragrance and odor eliminators are also added because we were made to believe that our period should smell like flowers. Hahaha! 

Photo from this site

All of these are harmful to the environment and our bodies too. Allergic reactions, hormonal imbalances and reproductive and gynecological disorders like endometriosis, are just some of the known side effects of our exposure to these chemicals from all the years that we’ve been using disposable products. There are also studies stating that the use of chemical-laden products may cause dysmenorrhea, period-related migraines, and lengthier cycles.

If you are feeling icky about washing your own blood, know that you are not alone. Once you’ve gotten over that initial feeling, and felt the benefits, the permanent switch to using cloth pads shouldn’t be too difficult. Our monthly menstruation is as natural as can be, and there is really no shame in having it, talking about it, or dealing with everything part of it. Next time you get that icky feeling about washing your own blood, just think that our menstrual cycles has been with us since the beginning of womanhood and all our female ancestors have been using pasadors all their lives. ☺️