GladRags Gab

I’m reading the astounding Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Nature Deficit Disorder? Initially, I didn’t want to read it. First, out of disgust for this disorder-for-everything kind of culture we live in and secondly because I couldn’t believe, have we gotten to that point already? But I am wrong on both counts. In the first case, Richard Louv, the author, states right away that this is not a medical diagnosis, just a way of describing the growing separation of nature from childhood that he had been keeping tabs on for the last decade. And in the second, I find out that people have been concerned about this issue for years. Since 1877 (!) a non-profit called Fresh Air Fund out of NYC has been providing inner-city kids with free country vacations so that they could get the obviously health-enhancing benefits of…nature. Okay, point(s) taken.

It’s sad that we have somehow become so removed from nature that we have to advocate to be near it. Louv sites, among other things, the decline of the family farm, intellectualization of the natural world (understanding acid rain but never playing in the river), the rise of community associations that place strict rules on natural space, and our recent tendency to scare our kids out of wandering out into nature as characteristics of this, the “third frontier”. He provides mind-boggling facts like, “between 2000 and 2003, spending on ADHD for preschoolers increased 369 percent,” and tells the story of the three boys who built a tree fort in their yard only to be shut down for not having building permits.

The tone reminds somewhat of Deep Economy , the book that Brenda blogged about earlier. With these important but rather gloom-and-doom books, I try to hang on to what positive points I can. There are always helpful solutions at the end and the hope that we can make the right decisions. And I hang on to simpler things: watching my kids play outside in our yard, making “soup” out of hose water and yard debris, and our mutual delight in butterflies. And for my myself, when I notice the changes in my body—that it’s almost time to grab a GladRag out of my drawer—I know I’m keeping a connection with the lunar cycle and the aspect of nature that is my very own body.

–Michelle 

Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907. Her book, Silent Spring , started a wave of environmental concern that goes on to this day. She was instrumental in getting certain pesticides banned and her work helped form governmental regulatory programs to deal with environmental protections (many of which have been gutted by our current adminstration). But right now we need to think of banning more chemicals. A May 17 story in the LA times, reports on new studies that identify over 200 commonly found chemicals that are linked to cancer.  More info is avaliable at silentspring.org

Today I discovered VoiceYourself.com, a website that is full of information about the environment and activism. And I consider it a site with integrity because they actually link to GladRags in their Righteous Rags section (organic clothing). Too many so-called "save the earth, stop global warming" websites and magazines just can't bring themselves to mention truly sustainable products like reusable menstrual options. One of the founders of VoiceYourself is the warm and wacky Woody Harrelson. Hats off to you Woody, and your group.

-Brenda 

I recently read Bill McKibben’s book, Deep Economy . It is a complicated call to reexamine the “growth” model by which we measure economic health. He suggests a move away from the dominating global economy to one where communities generate more on a local level to meet their needs, and that this kind of economic model is more satisfying and leads to a deeper, more equitable prosperity.

He posits that the concepts “more” and “better” used to be nearly the same thing. If you had more rooms in your house it was better, if you have more products to choose from it’s better. But in our current world, “more” is often resource depleting and polluting and therefore not “better”. I think GladRags fit firmly in the “better” category because they save money for women, and save resources.  So in some ways our products embody the idea of deep economy.

But here’s the irony that we struggle with at GladRags . When your business and your mission is to a make sustainable product that lasts for years, it turns out that your greatest benefit is also your greatest obstacle. We note in our sales literature that our pads last for five years but we know for a fact many women use them for 10.  So as you can imagine we don’t really have many repeat sales. We have satisfied customers but they are not repeat customers.

 The first lesson In Marketing 101 is “make repeat sales to your current customers, because it’s expensive to get new customers”.  Hmmm, that sounds good in theory but once our customer has her GladRags or cup she doesn’t need to buy again.  So our solution has to be always finding the new customer.  And while this might seem like the same old “growth” model of economics, we know that if more women are using our products it really means less pollution and a healthier environment. It seems to refute McKibben’s theory because here “more” is “better”, but only because in this case “more” is “less”.  Wow, too many quotes - I’m dizzy!

Anyway, the gist of this is more women need to know about GladRags. And we’re working on a plan where, you, our satisfied-but-not-repeating-customers, help us get new customers. We welcome your thoughts and ideas as we address our challenge. -Brenda