Long Story: I have formerly been an Always girl as that was what my mom purchased for me when I started this "journey into womanhood" (Always and O.B.). While over the course of what are now many years, I have used a large variety of feminine products as most women have due to the usual reasons: "borrowing" from a friend/relative/bathroom buddy stranger/co-worker, unexpected start thus creating the need to visit a public restroom in search of the hopefully working change enabled dispensary, having a leaking accident that leads you to question your current brand of choice, conferences with friends and deciding to give one of their "swear-by" products a shot, etc. Now I started needing these products back in 1993, so needless to say (I think?), the market and product options have changed quite a bit since then. What I always liked about the Always were the wings--I have a heavy flow and leaks could be frequent problems for me there, the wings really helped with preventing that, and with panty bunching. I know most women seem to prefer tampons, but with my flow, that was never really a good option for me. I have to wear at least a light days whenever I decide to go that route, which isn't often. (Though I do sometimes use them--currently I'm stocked up on the Tampax Pearls. I will be giving the Organyc brand ones a try as soon as I need to re-stock those and I will let you know how that compares then.) The past several years, however, the Always pads have become more and more plasticized. As someone who already questions the environmental impacts of all of this (and is curious about the menstrual rag), I have found myself wondering what better alternatives are out there. And now may be a good time to mention that the supposed increased capacity to squelch up the blood flow by utilizing sodium polyacrylate--the chemical found in diapers, doggy training pads, and fake snow (yeah, you read that right)--in the "new and improved" Always (and many other brand) pads is exceedingly diminished by the uppermost layer of plastic ("ergonomically designed with a pattern created to allow breathe-ability while ensuring the blood is able to flow down and be absorbed" theoretically) wherein the tiny holes are not actually adequate in allowing that to happen. We should also mention that what these products are supposed to be soaking up/wicking away/containing is not just freely flowing blood. There is vaginal mucus, skin cells, uterine tissue, AND blood. So the ad campaigns demonstrating the viability of their products in the company claims depicting blue water being poured onto and absorbed by the products are incredibly inadequate. I, wanting a greener and more capable product, purchased both these and the Seventh Generation ultra-thin regular with wings (http://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Generation-Pads-Regular-Ultra-Thin/dp/B000QV9UOK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406781313&sr=8-3&keywords=seventh+generation+ultra+thin+pads+with+wings) as well as the Seventh Generation overnights. I chose two of the Seventh Generation products because there were more reviews at the time. I also was mistaken in thinking both product lines featured organically produced materials. Seventh Generation products are cotton and are chlorine free. That's it. They are not necessarily any healthier for the environment, just maybe, for you. Organycs are made with organically produced cotton, and unlike the Seventh Generation products which are packaged in more and heavier duty plastic, they use a 78% biodegradable biopolymer for wrapping. As I have not tried any other Organyc products yet, I am only comparing the two almost identical products; i.e.: thin pads for moderate flow with wings. Both brands were comparable to the Always, and in fact out-performed in terms of actually controlling, containing, and absorbing the flow. Both were also nearly identical to be honest. However, the Organycs are actually made from organic cotton, and that was the real winning point for me. They also had a better wrap design--the Seventh Generation requires opening the plastic wrapper, then peeling the long strip of paper off as well as the paper over the wings; conversely, the Organycs had the long strip of paper attached to the biopolymer so you only needed to peel the wings as you remove it from the wrapper which I found more convenient. (Also, it should be noted that the Seventh Generation ones are prideful about using non-chlorine cotton, yet there is a little warning on the package about removing the paper strips quickly and adequately as the paper contains chlorine. .... hummm.) Short Story: These are great! They do their job--even better than the big name brands, and they are made from organic cotton, not tested on animals, and are about as biodegradable as you can get!! They are also priced competitively in the market, making them a feasible option for anyone, I just wish they were available on store shelves everywhere already!!!
