I'm getting more and more passionate about cloth pads / cloth sanitary protection (CSP). The more I think about them the more it makes sense, the more I use them the more I love them (and the more I resent the times when I have to buy a pack of sweaty disposable ones!). I want to tell the world about cloth pads and get lots of other ladies loving them too!

I've had my collection now for over 3 years - I use them as back up for my Mooncup, I have a heavy cycle so I do need to use both. They still work and they still look pretty good! I'd hate to think how much money I've saved and how many less bags of smelly rubbish are in landfill just from me! Since I bought my cloth pads 3 years ago the cloth pad world has exploded into a yummy array of fluffy yumminess! There are so many new materials that are being used - materials that wick away moisture, prevent staining and provide a higher level of absorbency for less bulk. When I bought mine there was pretty much only cotton and fleece available easily. These are great - cotton can stain a little (most of mine are fairly light coloured so they have), but is comfy and cool to wear. I live in sub-tropical Queensland so I know about sweatiness and pads .

I've had lots of people ask about the different pads that are available and there has been soooo many questions on the forum such as - how does this brand of CSP compare to this brand? Whats the different between this and that material? So I came up with the idea of getting together as many pads as I can and having a good look at them all and share my findings. I decided I'll share my CSP review journey with you all in my blog.

So I've contacted the CSP makers and those that want to be involved are sending in a small, medium, and large pad. Here's what I'm going to do with them:
Wash them & look at how long they all take to dry
I'm going to test them for absorbency using a method based on a cloth nappy testing method I have adapted. I will weigh each pad, immerse them in water for 1 minute, then allow them to drip for 15 minutes before weighing again. While this may not be the most scientific method it is the best I will be able to do at home and will give us all some idea of how much water different pads can absorb and hold.
Next I'll be testing them on a real life person (me!). I've just gone out and bought a big pack of knickers so that they can all be tested under the same conditions (well the conditions of some of my old undies would not be fair to any pad ). I will throw out my Mooncup throughout testing - this is majorly scary for me as I've worn tampons since I started my periods 20 odd years ago! I'll report back with everything I find about all the pads wearability!
I'm not just going to leave it there - I'm going to keep reporting back over the coming months to see how they hold up over time and washing too!

I'm hoping to help those of you that already use CSP to perhaps find out a bit more about brands you don't know about or haven't tried and I'm hoping to show those that don't use them (yet ) how wonderful the world of cloth pads is!!

When the reviews area goes up (it will be on the main site) you will also be able to add your own reviews to help others that come along after to make decisions about what to try! It would be wonderful if we could build together a fantastic resource for everyone to use.

I hope you are all as excited as I am I'll get the camera batteries charged up and get some pics of what has already arrived! I'll also be doing a You Tube clip to try to show people how lovely and fluffy they are and perhaps dispel some of the myths about grandma's old pin on pads! Oh the fun the fun!!!

ETA If you are a CSP maker and haven't heard from me and would like to be involved just contact me for more details!