Bro

ught

to y

ou b

y Ta

mpa

ctio

n, a

cam

paig

n or

gani

zed

by th

e N

atio

nal S

tude

nt E

nviro

nmen

tal

Act

ion

Coa

litio

n [S

EAC

]

Mis

sion

Sta

tem

ent:

The

Tam

pact

ion

Cam

paig

n ai

ms t

o er

adic

ate

the

use

of u

nhea

lthy,

uns

usta

inab

le ta

mpo

ns a

nd p

ads,

inst

itutio

naliz

e su

stai

nabl

e al

tern

ativ

es in

to o

ur

scho

ols a

nd c

omm

uniti

es, a

nd in

fuse

hea

lthy

attit

udes

su

rrou

ndin

g m

enst

ruat

ion

into

our

cul

ture

's co

nsci

ousn

ess.

We'r

e le

tting

the

wor

ld k

now

that

ble

edin

' can

be

ever

yone

's is

sue.

In d

oing

so, w

e w

ork

to d

estro

y pa

triar

chal

tabo

os, e

nd e

nviro

nmen

tal d

egra

datio

n ca

used

by

disp

osab

le ta

mpo

ns a

nd p

ads,

and

prom

ote

vagi

nal a

nd m

enst

rual

hea

lth.

Cur

ious

.W

hat a

re th

ese

peop

le ta

lkin

g ab

out?

Bro

ad

ly,

there

is

con

cern

ab

ou

t th

e

main

stre

am

men

stru

al in

du

stry

’s

involv

em

en

t in

iss

ues

of:

1)

Hu

man

Healt

h2

) S

oci

ety

3)

Th

e N

atu

ral En

vir

on

men

t4

) (E

nvir

on

men

tal)

Ju

stic

e

This

is im

porta

nt st

uff a

nd it

doe

sn’t

have

to b

e sc

ary,

but t

here

are

som

e th

ings

her

e fo

lks o

ught

to k

now

abo

ut…

Hu

man

Healt

hD

ioxi

n•D

ioxi

n is

a se

riou

s poi

son.

Its

toxi

c ef

fect

are

cum

ulat

ive

and

can

only

be

mea

sure

d/no

ticed

afte

r yea

rs o

f exp

osur

e. E

PA sa

ys:

“no

safe

dos

e”•A

ccor

ding

to m

anuf

actu

rers

, tam

pons

and

pad

s con

tain

dio

xins

“a

t or b

elow

” ac

cept

able

leve

ls, b

ut th

is li

es in

dire

ct c

ontra

dict

ion

to o

ther

ass

ertio

ns•T

here

is n

ot a

nd h

as n

ever

bee

n an

y in

depe

nden

t (no

n-co

rpor

ate)

te

stin

g of

dio

xin

leve

ls in

men

stru

al p

rodu

cts,

and

the

test

s tha

t ha

ve b

een

done

hav

e be

en in

appr

opria

te (t

he v

agin

a is

the

mos

t ab

sorb

ent p

art o

f the

bod

y, w

hich

the

test

ing

does

n’t t

ake

into

ac

coun

t)•C

once

rns a

bout

dio

xin

are

not n

early

as g

reat

as t

hey

used

to b

e,

in p

art b

ecau

se o

f pre

ssur

e ge

nera

ted

by c

ampa

igns

like

this

one

Ray

on a

nd o

ther

synt

hetic

s•R

ayon

is a

supe

r-ab

sorb

ent s

ynth

etic

(pla

stic

) mat

eria

l in

mos

t m

ains

tream

men

stru

al p

rodu

cts

•Ray

on a

nd o

ther

syn

thet

ics h

ave

been

crit

iciz

ed fo

r bei

ng to

oab

sorb

ent:

rayo

n ca

uses

“ul

cera

tion

and

peel

ing

of th

e m

ucou

s m

embr

ane”

in th

e va

gina

•Bec

ause

of t

heir

supe

r-ab

sorb

ency

, syn

thet

ic m

ater

ials

in

tam

pons

are

mor

e lik

ely

to re

mai

n in

side

the

vagi

na a

fter r

emov

al,

incr

easi

ng se

vera

l hea

lth c

once

rns

•The

re is

an

ince

ntiv

e in

this

abs

orbe

ncy,

bec

ause

incr

ease

d bl

eedi

ng m

eans

incr

ease

d pr

ofits

•Syn

thet

ics l

ed to

the

rise

of ta

mpo

n-re

late

d To

xic

Shoc

k Sy

ndro

me

case

s (be

ginn

ing

in th

e la

te 1

970s

/ear

ly 1

980s

)•T

he F

DA

has

refu

sed

to re

quire

ingr

edie

nt li

stin

gs o

n m

enst

rual

pr

oduc

ts

Hu

man

Healt

h(c

ont.

)

Tox

ic S

hock

Syn

drom

e•T

SS is

a se

rious

med

ical

em

erge

ncy,

cau

sed

by a

bac

teria

l inf

ectio

n of

stap

hylo

cocc

us (n

atur

ally

pre

sent

in a

bout

20%

of m

enst

ruat

or’s

va

gina

s at a

ny g

iven

tim

e) in

the

bloo

d st

ream

•TSS

has

bee

n di

rect

ly li

nked

to m

ains

tream

men

stru

al p

rodu

cts,

spec

ifica

lly n

on-o

rgan

ic, s

ynth

etic

tam

pons

•TSS

is n

o lo

nger

a

maj

or c

once

rn,

than

ks in

par

t to

pres

sure

gen

erat

ed

by c

ampa

igns

like

th

is o

ne (b

ut it

shou

ld st

ill b

e ta

ken

serio

usly

!)

Hu

man

Healt

h(c

ont.

)

So

ciety

(“W

hit

er

than

Wh

ite”)

Why

is it

tabo

o to

talk

abo

ut th

ese

thin

gs?

Why

hav

en’t

you

seen

this

in

form

atio

n be

fore

? W

here

did

you

lear

n ab

out m

enst

ruat

ion

and

men

stru

al

prod

ucts

? E

tc. E

tc.

The

answ

ers t

o th

ese

ques

tions

are

all

very

soci

ally

in

fluen

ced

–pe

rhap

s som

e of

thes

e w

ords

can

hel

p pr

ovid

e an

swer

s, an

d pr

ovok

e m

ore

ques

tions

:“T

he w

ay w

e m

enst

ruat

e in

Am

eric

a to

day

not o

nly

affe

cts t

he

econ

omy,

it a

lso

cont

ribut

es to

the

way

in w

hich

ado

lesc

ent g

irls

mak

e th

e bo

dy in

to a

n in

tens

e pr

ojec

t req

uirin

g ca

refu

l scr

utin

yan

d co

nsta

nt p

erso

nal c

ontro

l”(B

rum

berg

, The

Bod

y Pr

ojec

t p. 3

0).

“Girl

s who

gro

w u

p in

the

mod

ern

wor

ld o

f san

itary

pro

tect

ion

lear

n ea

rly h

ow to

kee

p a

men

stru

atin

g bo

dy u

nder

con

trol…

[it] h

as

beco

me

mor

e of

an

econ

omic

ritu

al th

an a

soci

al o

ne”

(Bru

mbe

rg 3

2).

“The

poi

nt w

as to

use

‘our

’pro

duct

bec

ause

‘not

hing

will

show

’; ‘n

o on

e w

ill k

now

’; ‘y

our s

ecre

t will

be

safe

.’W

e w

ere

mea

nt to

de

odor

ize,

sani

tize,

rem

ove

any

evid

ence

, and

hid

e al

l sha

me”

(Mer

skin

, Wha

t Eve

ry G

irl S

houl

d K

now

p. 1

21).

“Mod

ern

adve

rtise

men

ts fo

r fem

inin

e hy

gien

e pr

oduc

ts a

re

com

pila

tions

of c

entu

ries-

old

myt

hs a

nd ta

boos

…to

day’

s ad

verti

sem

ents

per

petu

ate

men

stru

al m

yths

and

dic

tate

app

ropr

iate

be

havi

or a

roun

d ta

les f

rom

the

past

”(M

ersk

in, p

. 114

).“I

n C

alifo

rnia

, it h

as b

ecom

e ill

egal

to fe

ed th

e le

aves

, ste

ms,

and

shor

t fib

ers o

f cot

ton

know

n as

gin

tras

h to

live

stoc

k, b

ecau

se o

f the

co

ncen

trate

d le

vels

of p

estic

ide

resi

due.

Inst

ead,

this

gin

tras

h is

use

d to

mak

e fu

rnitu

re, m

attre

sses

, tam

pons

, sw

abs,

and

cotto

n ba

lls”

(sea

c.or

g/ta

mpo

ns/e

nviro

nmen

t).“M

ost w

omen

do

not h

ave

any

mea

sura

ble

diff

eren

ces i

n th

eir

thin

king

cap

acity

thro

ugho

ut th

eir c

ycle

s or i

n th

eir a

bilit

y to

perf

orm

ta

sks…

Men

, how

ever

, who

are

muc

h m

ore

pron

e to

serio

usly

in

capa

cita

ting

and

unpr

edic

tabl

e di

seas

es, s

uch

as h

eart

prob

lem

s, co

ntin

ue in

hig

hly

resp

onsi

ble

posi

tions

”(B

osto

n W

omen

’s H

ealth

C

olle

ctiv

e, T

he N

ew O

ur B

odie

s, O

urse

lves

p. 2

12).

So

ciety

(co

nt.

)

Th

e N

atu

ral En

vir

on

men

tSt

ream

of c

onsu

mpt

ion

and

was

te•A

s man

y as

16,

800

pads

and

tam

pons

in a

men

stru

ator

’s li

fetim

e•1

2 bi

llion

pad

s and

7 b

illio

n ta

mpo

ns p

er y

ear i

n th

e U

.S. a

lone

A d

irty

indu

stry

•cot

ton

–5

know

n ca

rcin

ogen

s and

25%

of a

ll pe

stic

ides

in th

e U

.S. a

re u

sed

to g

row

cot

ton

•ray

on –

mad

e fr

om c

ellu

lose

from

the

woo

d pu

lp in

dust

ry, t

he

coun

try’s

third

larg

est p

ollu

ter

•unn

eces

sary

ble

achi

ng p

roce

ss fu

rther

poi

sons

the

envi

ronm

ent

(why

mus

t men

stru

al p

rodu

cts b

e so

whi

te a

nyw

ay??

)to

giv

e yo

u an

idea

:12

bill

ion

pads

+ 7

bill

ion

tam

pons

= a

bout

383

mill

ion

poun

ds/y

ear!

or a

bout

81,

500

Hum

mer

H3s

(En

vir

on

men

tal)

Ju

stic

eTh

is m

ust a

ll be

put

into

con

text

of t

he w

orld

w

e liv

e in

toda

y. B

ecau

se o

f the

une

qual

di

strib

utio

n of

wea

lth a

nd th

us a

lso

envi

ronm

enta

l im

pact

, som

e pe

ople

get

hur

t m

ore

by a

ll of

this

, inc

ludi

ng so

cial

, hea

lth,

and

envi

ronm

enta

l iss

ues.

"Env

ironm

enta

lism

is e

ssen

tially

hum

an ri

ghts

, civ

il rig

hts,

wom

en's

right

s, in

dige

nous

righ

ts, s

exua

l orie

ntat

ion

right

s and

labo

r rig

hts.

Thes

e rig

hts a

re

all i

nter

conn

ecte

d an

d da

mag

e to

one

is d

amag

e to

all.

”-E

nvir

onm

enta

l Ju

stic

e St

rate

gy P

aper

Lat

in A

mer

ica

Solid

arity

Coa

litio

n-

It is

als

o w

orth

con

side

ring

whe

ther

sex

and

gend

er h

ave

play

ed a

pa

rt in

the

hist

ory

of th

e m

enst

rual

indu

stry

–fo

r ins

tanc

e, w

ould

th

e le

gisl

atio

n in

trodu

ced

in 1

997

to re

quire

inde

pend

ent t

estin

g ha

ve b

een

reje

cted

if e

very

one

men

stru

ated

? H

ow e

lse

may

sex

and

gend

er b

e im

porta

nt h

ere?

Th

ere

is

an

oth

er

way…

Ther

e ar

e se

vera

l hea

lthy,

safe

alter

nat

ives

:

1)T

he

Kee

per

and t

he

Div

aCup

2)R

eusa

ble

pad

s3)O

rgan

ic p

ads

and t

am

pons

4)S

ea s

ponges

Men

stru

al c

ups:

The

Kee

per

an

d th

e D

ivaC

upW

hat t

hey

are:

They

are

cup

s wor

n in

tern

ally

, hol

ding

(ins

tead

of a

bsor

bing

) mon

thly

men

stru

al

flow

. Th

ey c

an b

e w

orn

up to

12

hour

s, an

d ev

en o

vern

ight

.H

ow th

ey w

ork:

To in

sert,

you

firs

t fol

d th

e cu

p le

ngth

wis

e be

twee

n yo

ur fi

nger

s. It

form

s a se

al

whi

ch k

eeps

flui

d in

side

the

cup.

It w

ill n

ot a

bsor

b or

dis

rupt

your

nat

ural

vag

inal

m

oist

ure.

It c

an h

old

up to

one

oun

ce o

f men

stru

al fl

ow, (

an a

vera

ge m

enst

ruat

or’s

m

onth

ly fl

ow is

abo

ut 2

-4 o

unce

s).

To re

mov

e it

you

sim

ply

pinc

h th

e bo

ttom

of

the

cup

to re

leas

e th

e se

al, t

hen

bear

dow

n sl

ight

ly w

ith y

our p

elvi

c m

uscl

es to

hel

p m

ove

it do

wnw

ard.

Rem

ove

slow

ly, a

nd e

mpt

y th

e co

nten

ts in

to th

e to

ilet.

Rin

se

or w

ipe,

and

rein

sert.

Bet

wee

n cy

cles

you

shou

ld ri

nse

suff

icie

ntly

with

wat

er a

nd

soap

or a

mild

vin

egar

solu

tion,

but

avo

id h

arsh

che

mic

als –

the

Div

aCup

can

be

boile

d.W

hat t

hey’

re m

ade

of:

Kee

per -

natu

ral g

um ru

bber

, tap

ped

from

tree

s with

out k

illin

g th

em

Div

aCup

–hi

gh q

ualit

y 10

0% h

ypo-

alle

rgen

ic so

ft m

edic

al g

rade

silic

one

Whe

re to

get

them

:ke

eper

.com

, div

acup

.com

, nat

ural

food

stor

es, a

nd m

any

othe

rs

Men

stru

al c

ups:

The

Kee

per

and

the

Div

aCup

Goo

d A

spec

ts

B

ad A

spec

ts

•The

y co

llect

blo

od -

do n

ot

abso

rb b

lood

or c

ause

abr

asio

ns•R

eusa

ble

= fr

iend

ly to

the

envi

ronm

ent

•No

blea

chin

g pr

oces

s ne

cess

ary

•Las

t for

10

year

s•A

ffor

dabl

e•M

oney

-bac

k gu

aran

tee

•Ext

rem

ely

com

forta

ble

•Gre

at fo

r tra

velin

g (n

othi

ng to

ca

rry

arou

nd)

•The

Div

aCup

is g

ood

for t

hose

w

ith la

tex

alle

rgie

s

•The

re is

a sl

ight

chan

ce o

f TSS

, al

thou

gh n

o ca

ses h

ave

been

repo

rted

•May

agg

rava

te u

rinar

y tra

ct in

fect

ions

•Can

be

mes

sy to

cha

nge

•Suc

tion

effe

ct is

initi

ally

dis

conc

ertin

g•O

nly

com

e in

2 si

zes,

so m

ight

not

fit

perf

ectly

•Hig

her i

nitia

l inv

estm

ent

•Tak

es a

few

trie

s to

lear

n ho

w to

inse

rt an

d re

mov

e pr

oper

ly•K

eepe

r is m

ade

of la

tex

(rub

ber=

late

x)

Reu

sabl

e Pa

dsW

hat t

hey

are:

Clo

th, r

eusa

ble

men

stru

al p

ads.

Thi

s inc

lude

s any

rag-

like

clot

h yo

u st

ick

in y

our u

nder

wea

r to

soak

up

your

flow

. It

can

incl

ude

care

fully

-se

wn

pads

mad

e fr

om a

pat

tern

that

took

yea

rs to

per

fect

, or i

t can

be

rippe

d-up

old

paj

amas

.W

hat t

hey

are

mad

e of

:C

otto

n, so

ft co

mfy

flan

nel,

deep

luxu

rious

terr

y cl

oth,

mad

e lo

ving

ly in

fa

ctor

ies,

in b

edro

oms a

nd a

t stit

ch ‘n

’ bitc

hes,

by h

and,

on

indu

stria

l se

win

g m

achi

nes…

Of c

ours

e, it

var

ies d

epen

ding

on

whe

ther

you

mak

e th

em y

ours

elf o

r buy

them

, and

then

it d

epen

ds o

n w

ho y

ou b

uy th

em

from

.W

here

to g

et th

em:

your

self

or y

our f

riend

s, ur

ban-

arm

or.o

rg,

glad

rags

.com

, lun

apad

s.com

, pan

dora

pads

.com

, and

oth

ers

Reu

sabl

e Pa

dsG

ood

Asp

ects

B

ad A

spec

ts•T

hey

let b

lood

flow

nat

ural

ly•Y

ou c

an m

ake

som

ethi

ng fo

r yo

urse

lf th

at y

ou c

an b

e pr

oud

of

an g

et e

xcite

d ab

out e

very

tim

e yo

u m

enst

ruat

e•O

ld c

loth

es a

nd to

wel

s mak

e gr

eat p

ads –

the

crea

tive

and

nost

algi

c po

ssib

ilitie

s are

end

less

!•A

ffor

dabl

e•S

oft a

nd c

omfy

•Reu

sabl

e, h

ence

bet

ter f

or th

e en

viro

nmen

t•N

o ris

k of

Tox

ic S

hock

Sy

ndro

me

•No

chlo

rine

blea

chin

g ne

cess

ary

•Hav

e to

set a

side

tim

e to

was

h th

em•N

ot so

con

veni

ent i

f you

’re

out f

or

long

per

iods

of t

ime;

you

may

hav

e to

car

ry th

em h

ome

in a

pla

stic

bag

.•D

epen

ding

on

pad,

can

be

bulk

y•I

f you

just

was

h th

em b

y ha

nd, t

hey

can

get p

retty

har

d an

d cr

unch

y, so

a

was

hing

mac

hine

is n

eede

d•H

ighe

r ini

tial i

nves

tmen

t

Org

anic

Pad

s and

Tam

pons

Wha

t the

y ar

e:Th

ey’r

e pa

ds a

nd ta

mpo

ns, j

ust l

ike

conv

entio

nal o

nes e

xcep

t mad

e fr

om

orga

nic

cotto

n -t

ampo

ns a

re a

vaila

ble

with

or w

ithou

t app

licat

ors.

O

rgan

ic si

mpl

y m

eans

that

the

ingr

edie

nts a

re m

ade

with

out t

he u

se o

f sy

nthe

tic in

puts

, suc

h as

ferti

lizer

s, pe

stic

ides

, and

gen

etic

ally

mod

ified

or

gani

sms.

Wha

t the

y ar

e m

ade

of:

Pads

–no

n-ch

lorin

e bl

each

ed, o

rgan

ic c

otto

n w

ith p

last

ic li

ning

Tam

pons

–10

0% o

rgan

ic, n

on-c

hlor

ine

blea

ched

cot

ton

Whe

re to

get

them

:M

ost n

atur

al fo

od st

ores

, org

anic

esse

ntia

ls.c

om, n

atra

care

.com

, and

you

r ve

ry o

wn

SU B

ooks

tore

Goo

d A

spec

ts

Bad

Asp

ects

Org

anic

Pad

s and

Tam

pons

•Pes

ticid

e-fr

ee•N

o ch

lorin

e bl

each

ing

•No

rayo

n•I

f des

ired,

you

can

cut

them

to

the

size

that

is ri

ght f

or y

ou•E

asy

to u

se a

nd o

ften

fam

iliar

•Ver

y co

mfo

rtabl

e•N

o pe

rfum

es•N

o ris

k of

dio

xin

expo

sure

•Ava

ilabl

e at

the

SU B

ooks

tore

•As w

ith a

ny ta

mpo

n, th

ere

is a

ch

ance

of T

oxic

Sho

ck S

yndr

ome,

th

ough

no

case

s hav

e ev

er b

een

repo

rted

•Dis

posa

ble

and

was

tefu

l•O

ften

mor

e ex

pens

ive

than

m

ains

tream

pad

s and

tam

pons

As w

ith a

ny ta

mpo

n, v

agin

al m

ucus

is

abs

orbe

d, th

us a

lterin

g pH

bal

ance

, w

hich

can

lead

to y

east

infe

ctio

ns.

•Can

clo

g se

ptic

sys

tem

s•N

ot st

erile

•Can

be

diff

icul

t to

find

Sea

Spon

ges

Wha

t the

y ar

e:Se

a sp

onge

s are

ano

ther

reus

able

men

stru

al p

rote

ctio

n op

tion

from

the

past

. Th

ey a

re p

lant

-like

cre

atur

es g

row

ing

in c

olon

ies o

n th

e oc

ean

floor

. Th

ere

are

over

forty

five

hun

dred

var

ietie

s, th

e so

ftest

of w

hich

are

the

Atla

ntic

and

M

edite

rran

ean

Silk

s. A

s spo

nges

are

har

vest

ed, m

illio

ns o

f egg

and

sper

m c

ells

ar

e re

leas

ed in

to th

e su

rrou

ndin

g w

ater

, mak

ing

the

spon

ge a

rene

wab

le

reso

urce

. H

owev

er, w

e ca

nnot

, at t

his p

oint

, gua

rant

ee th

at th

eha

rves

ting

tech

niqu

es le

ave

a sm

all o

vera

ll ec

olog

ical

foot

prin

t. S

pong

es a

re a

lso

ques

tiona

ble

for s

trict

veg

ans.

How

it W

orks

:Si

mpl

y w

ash

out a

nd re

inse

rt ev

ery

4-6

hour

s, as

ofte

n as

you

wou

ld c

hang

e a

tam

pon.

Cle

an b

y si

mpl

y so

akin

g in

vin

egar

ove

rnig

ht; a

ir dr

y. T

ie o

r sew

on

a pi

ece

of c

otto

n st

ring

for e

asy

retri

eval

. Th

ey c

an b

e us

ed fo

r sev

eral

cyc

les

each

, the

n th

ey b

egin

to d

isin

tegr

ate.

Whe

re to

get

them

:N

atur

al fo

od st

ores

, jad

eand

pear

l.com

, urb

an-a

rmor

.org

, lun

apad

s.com

Not

e: T

ampa

ctio

n do

es n

ot fu

lly e

ndor

se se

a sp

onge

s bec

ause

of t

heir

que

stio

nabl

e ef

fect

s on

men

stru

al h

ealth

, the

env

iron

men

t, an

d liv

ing

sea

spon

ges.

Sea

Spon

ges

Goo

d A

spec

ts

B

ad A

spec

ts•R

eusa

ble

•No

chlo

rine

blea

chin

g•A

fford

able

•You

can

cut

them

to th

e si

ze

that

is ri

ght f

or y

ou•E

asy

to u

se•E

xtre

mel

y co

mfo

rtabl

e –

you

can’

t rea

lly fe

el th

em w

hen

you’

re w

earin

g th

em•F

un to

was

h in

pub

lic!

•Sin

ce th

ey d

wel

l on

the

ocea

n flo

or, t

heir

may

be

pollu

tant

s or t

oxin

s in

them

•The

y be

gin

to d

isin

tegr

ate

afte

r sev

eral

m

onth

s –no

stud

ies h

ave

been

don

e on

th

e ef

fect

s of t

his

•Dis

inte

grat

ing

spon

ge p

artic

les +

mos

t ab

sorb

ent p

art o

f one

’s b

ody

= po

tent

ially

ha

zard

ous

•Cou

ld b

e en

viro

nmen

tally

unf

riend

ly

give

n th

at th

ey’r

e ha

rves

ted

from

the

botto

m o

f the

oce

an•T

hey

have

to b

e cl

eane

d w

ell

•Can

be

mes

sy to

cha

nge

•Lik

e ta

mpo

ns, a

bsor

b m

ore

than

just

m

enst

rual

blo

od a

nd a

ffect

pH

bal

ance

•An

anim

al p

rodu

ct, t

hey’

re n

ot v

egan

•Not

ster

ile

Pric

e C

ompa

riso

n

010

020

030

040

050

060

070

0

$

org. pads andtampons

non-org. pads andtampons

sea sponges

reusable pads

keeper and divacup

10 y

ears

1 ye

ar1

cycl

e

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n, tr

y th

e fo

llow

ing

sour

ces:

•Tam

pact

ion

(tam

pact

ion.

org)

•The

New

Our

Bod

ies,

Our

selv

esby

the

Bos

ton

Wom

en’s

Hea

lth C

olle

ctiv

e•T

he M

useu

m o

f Men

stru

atio

n (M

UM

.org

)•T

he B

ody

Proj

ectb

y Jo

an B

rum

berg

Ther

e is

als

o pe

ndin

g le

gisl

atio

n “t

o am

end

the

Publ

ic H

ealth

Ser

vice

Act

to

esta

blis

h a

prog

ram

of r

esea

rch

rega

rdin

g th

e ris

ks p

osed

by

the

pres

ence

of

diox

in, s

ynth

etic

fibe

rs, a

nd o

ther

add

itive

s in

fem

inin

e hy

gien

e pr

oduc

ts,

and

to e

stab

lish

a pr

ogra

m fo

r the

col

lect

ion

and

anal

ysis

of d

ata

on to

xic

shoc

k sy

ndro

me.

” It

is R

ep. C

arol

yn M

alon

ey’s

H.R

. 341

1 “T

he R

obin

D

anie

lson

Act

,” w

hich

has

bee

n si

tting

in th

e H

ouse

Com

mitt

ee o

nEn

ergy

an

d C

omm

erce

’s S

ubco

mm

ittee

on

Hea

lth si

nce

it w

as re

ferr

ed th

ere

in Ju

ly

2005

. A

sim

ilar b

ill (H

.R. 3

73) i

ntro

duce

d by

Mal

oney

in Ja

nuar

y 20

03 w

as

also

refe

rred

to th

e Su

bcom

mitt

ee o

n H

ealth

in F

ebru

ary

2003

and

no

actio

ns h

ave

been

take

n si

nce.

The

Com

mitt

ee c

an b

e re

ache

d th

roug

h ht

tp://

ener

gyco

mm

erce

.hou

se.g

ov o

r at (

202)

225-

2927

.