New Cycle menstrual cloth pad sampler containing reusable cotton menstrual pads in Mini, Midi and Maxi sizes

New Cycle menstrual cloth pad sampler containing reusable cotton menstrual pads in Mini, Midi and Maxi sizes, pink floral pattern, The Menstrual Health Foundation, Santa Rosa, California, 1990-2000

Tamara Slayton (1950-2003), a Californian menstrual activist and feminist spiritualist. It was a non-profit educational corporation that sought to create a new way of thinking about menarche, menstruation and menopause that challenged the dominant culture of menstrual shame, secrecy and silence. Slayton and her contemporaries reframed menstruation as a source of female power and spirituality that should be celebrated.

This sampler pack contains three sizes of the washable cotton menstrual cloth pads that Slayton sold through her company New Cycle (later WomanKind), which was dedicated to supporting “female well-being” and “the ecology of our planet.” Slayton opposed the use of tampons because of the chemicals used in them. She called the products “a weapon against women” and believed that they kept people from fully experiencing menstruation. The mail-order company also sold ‘moon bowls’ in which to soak bloodied pads with a spout enabling the water to be poured over plants as fertiliser. This ritual was part of Slayton's conception of menstruation as connecting women to the earth.

Reusable period pads and underwear have undergone a resurgence in popularity since the mid-2010s, driven by consumers seeking more comfortable and environmentally friendly alternatives to disposable products.