Periods are a pain but they don’t have to be for your wallet, or for the earth. In the past few years, thanks to the leadership of empowered feminists looking to redefine the quality of menstrual products while taking down the stigma of periods, the reusable menstrual products movement has rapidly grown. Reusable cloth pads, period underwear, menstrual disks, menstrual cups, sea sponges, and many more options are now available.
Go Green for the Red aims to educate menstruators in the WashU community on sustainable period products and menstrual health, while also working to alleviate period poverty on campus by providing information about and access to affordable reusable period products.
The program will kickoff on March 22 with a panel discussion featuring local and international experts on period poverty, personal health, and environmental health. See below for information on panelists.
This event is co-sponsored by CS40.
Access the recording to this event here.
Laurel Segrist
Director of Programs at the St. Louis Diaper Bank, and actively involved in The Alliance for Period Supplies, which aims to end period poverty in the St. Louis region.
Dr. Lewis Wall
Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and of Obstetrics and Gynecology (School of Medicine), and Founder/President of the Board of Dignity Period.
Guhar Goyal
Guhar Goyal is a 16-year-old high school student studying in Bangalore, India. She has been actively participating in the journey of environmental care through various initiatives for sustainable living such as spreading awareness around water conservation, Say-No-To-Plastic campaigns, and helping with her community Steel Cutlery Bank.
Most importantly, she has been the youth ambassador for the Sustainable Menstruation campaign in her city, promoting Sustainable Menstruation products through fundraisers, panel meets, and social media. Guhar Goyal is currently part of the pan-India GreenTheRed and is working alongside India’s forefront Sustainable Menstruation company Stonesoup.in. Guhar is also the Vice-president of the local Rotary Interact Club where she leads the active sustainability projects.
Ranen Miao
Ranen Miao is a second-year junior at WashU, majoring in political science and sociology. Ranen is passionate about building community and fighting for social justice initiatives. In addition to serving as the Student Union President, Ranen is involved in countless initiatives on campus and beyond.
Ranen spent his first year at WashU advocating for the expansion of free menstrual products across the university, drafting a white paper, conducting a student body survey, and compiling a peer institute comparative analysis. He helped secure $50,000 for menstrual products in the 2021-2022 budget, and is passionate about expanding access to menstrual equity.
He has fundraised for anti-racist initiatives, founded a university-wide Food Security Fund, spearheaded a national pass/fail grading campaign, and much more. Ranen Miao was recognized for his work as a United States Senate Youth Program delegate, Point Scholar, a National Liberty Museum Young Hero, a Burger King Scholar, and the winner of AU’s National Essay Contest about religious freedom, and his work has been featured in Forbes, The Washington Post, and Vox.
Registration
While this event is free and open to all, you have to fill out this quick registration form in order to attend. The registration form is to ensure that our outreach is inclusive and to assess interest in our sustainable period product ambassador program. We look forward to having you!