Mooncup Monday: Week 4 (it is finished)
May 23, 2011 by Emily Dodd 
For one month, Leith ladies have boldly gone where no Mooncup has gone before to bring the reusable menstrual cup to the masses in our Mooncup Monday special. Will you will consider terminating your tampon totaliser (which will reach 11,000 in your lifetime) and switching to a greener, safer and cheaper alternative? Benefits include reduced waste to landfill and the sea and you may even enjoy using it.
Read about the Challenge
Week 1: It begins (How do they feel about the Mooncup challenge before they start?)
Week 2: Partici-pants equipped (How did their purchasing experience go? Plus photos and a how to video)
Week 3: Using it (What's it like to use a mooncup? There's blood, sweat and tears)
Week 4: It is Finished
Welcome to our Mooncup extravaganza! We're delighted to announce two ways you can win a Mooncup (worth £20) from Greener Leith thanks to Mooncupltd. MCB reports on using her Mooncup, MCA and MCC tell us how they feel about them at the end of the trial and we share some of our favourite Mooncup twitter tweets with you on Storify.
Final Thoughts from the Ladies (A, B, C)
MCA:
The end of the mooncup challenge is upon us and how do I feel about it? Well safe to say more practice is needed with a full period but after researching the pro/cons against tampons I'll be concentrating on using the mooncup in future and it'll defiently save me from forgetting to throw in the usual 'lady things' into the trolley at the supermarket or seeing the embrassed look coming across the teenage boy's face at the checkout!!
When you weigh up the cost comparison, the mooncup (in the long term) saves money so why aren't more ladies or even the government jumping onto this? Reduced blockage of sewage pipes and at waste treatment centres, I'm surprised scottish water aren't making a song and dance about this as well!!
Will I continue to tell people about this? yes if my inner prude doesn't come out to play! I feel this is something that every women should try in their lives, I guess the only problem is that if you don't like it a refund may prove awkward!
MCB:
Well, the month of mooncups has come to an end, and I can say for sure that it has caused some interesting conversations! I've been surprised at how little people actually know about them - to be honest, most women haven't even heard of them. It has made me realise that when it comes to bodily functions, very few people are willing to talk openly about issues, much less take a chance on trying something new.
I have officially used the mooncup this weekend for the purpose for which it was intended, and I'm happy to report that I have had no problems so far! It doesn't hurt, I can't feel it when it's in, and it doesn't leak! I did face the rather daunting task of using it in public bathroom this morning, but i made sure I had a bottle of water with me and I coped! To be honest, it is messier than using a tampon and just flushing it away, but it's a small price to pay if it means fewer disgusting things ending up in our seas and on our beaches.
It has made me think long and hard about how used we have all become to having things so easy, regardless of the effect it has on the environment. I think we are now getting to the stage where we're going to have to take a long hard look at our lives and start making changes, before it's too late.
Yes the mooncup is expensive, but it's an investment and our planet is worth it.
MCC:
I'll give them another go and am most grateful to Mooncup ltd for sending me a replacement Mooncup. My first try was an experience I don't wish to remember, I was relieved to hear to that other ladies lost their mooncups inside them due to over trimming. I hope to get on better with my new Mooncup, the planet is worth it. Till death do us part, go Mooncup.
Win a Mooncup (worth £20)
Yes you can really win one. Tell us why you want to win a Mooncup in 40 words or less using the comment form below. Make sure you enter the spam filter code after you've submitted your comment. You can also use twitter to enter, tweet @mooncupmonday with why you want to win in the space of one tweet (minus @mooncupmonday). We'll announce the winners on next Monday. Good luck ladies.
UPDATE: Read competition entries from the finalists and find out who won here.
Our Top Mooncup Tweets
Feedback (and green birth control)
Thank you all for the feedback, facebook likes and support. We've been in STV Local, the Edinburgh Guardian and had emails of thanks from Mooncupltd.
Cyclebeads enjoyed our trail so much they wrote and asked us to consider blogging their new green birth control product. I would do anything for Greener Leith..... but I won't do that.
Conclusion
Thank you to our ladies, they deserve medals, MCA, MCB and MCC we salute you. Thank you Mooncup Mitchell for all your help and support with the comments.
I spent a year and a half avoiding every Mooncup conversation Mooncup Mitchell cared to start. In the last month Mooncups have been high on my conversation agenda (much to my dismay). If I can paste it on my facebook profile every week, tweet 'Go Mooncup!' and discuss it with friends in the pub, you can too.
Thank you.
Read more from Emily on Sustainable Stories, Twitter or Facebook.
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