Alternatives to disposable pads and tampons

I found out about alternatives to disposable products while flipping through a natural health magazine. There was an ad for sea sponge tampons and immediately I was interested. It had never crossed my mind before that there was something else I could be using during my periods. I had already tried tampons (all absorbencies), pads, and the instead cup. I wasn't thrilled with any of them.

Once I started to research these other options, I was surprised with some of the things I learned about pads in tampons. They are not sterile, and are generally made with bleached cotton and synthetic fibers. I guess that is obvious but still something I hadn't considered. Another thing to consider about pads and tampons that are not made from organic cotton is that the cotton may have been grown with pesticides. I don't like the idea of pesticides in my vagina.

I ended up buying a divacup and sea sponge tampons. I have been pleased with the results and I'll never go back to disposables again. The best thing about the divacup is that I can go for hours without leaks and I don't spend my entire period worrying about where I'm going to be and what I'll be doing when it's time to change my tampon.