We’ve had an email from Charley:

I’ve read your pages about reducing toilet paper and sanitary towels. I’m not sure I want to go that far yet but I do want to find an alternative for makeup sponges like for applying liquid foundation. Do you know if there are any recycled sponges on the market or what else can I use?

I’m hoping we’ve got some make-up experts in the Recycle This community — I’ve only worn foundation twice in my entire life so I don’t know much about that sort of thing. It’s an evasive answer but that is one way to reduce using synthetic sponges/foam pads – and other make-up consumables such as packaging: wear less make-up and less regularly. I realise it’s not an answer for everyone but it is something to consider. I think I used to wear make-up out of habit but once I got over the shock of going cosmetically nude, I quickly normalised to not wearing make-up.

Now to Charley’s actual question: with Google, I can find sponge scourers make from recycled but not finer make-up sponges. Anyone got better Google skills or with more cosmetics knowledge, know where/what to look for? You can get natural sponges for applying make-up (which could be composted at the end of the life) but they usually have their own environmental impact. Anyone got any advice on those?

Alternatives: again, possibly not for everyone but switch to a powder foundation that can be applied with a brush – a good quality brush washed regularly will last a long, long time. (On a similar point, I can’t believe I stuck with sponge eye shadow applicators for so long — trained into them by the “free” ones with some shadows I guess — when a shaped brush does a far better job and lasts a lot longer too.)

I know a lot of people make their own make-up removal pads to use instead of cotton wool but has anyone made their own reusable application pads?

Any other suggestions or ideas for Charley to try?

In honour of International Women’s Day on Monday, we’re having a week of women’s health and sexual health themed posts here on Recycle This – with lots of related giveaways.

It’s great having so many wonderful things to give away – the range of green, reusable sanitary products available these days is amazing — really something for everyone, whether you’re a pad user or want something inside instead.

There is a quite a lot of buzz around menstrual cups – like the Mooncup we’re giving away – at the moment but chatter about menstrual sponges isn’t quite so common – which is a shame because they’re a great natural option and these ones we’ve got to give away? BEST. NAME. EVER.

Jam Sponges are natural, unbleached sea sponges, sustainably harvested from the Mediterranean Ocean and used a bit like tampons – inserted into the vagina, they soak up menstrual fluid before it has a chance to escape into the wild. Unlike tampons though, they’re chemical-free, won’t cause Toxic Shock Syndrome and won’t cause a giant pile of landfill/block sewers. Treated with care, each sponge will last a year and is fully biodegradable so can compost when you’re done with it.

Plus – PLUS – they come with a shiny bag to keep the spare in AND a badge. (Do take the badge off the sponge before inserting ;) )

We’ve got two sets of these fab things to give away – again, they’re courtesy of the lovely Rachael at Moon Times. Just leave a comment below (doesn’t have to be long – “hi” or “jam sponge? hahahaha, that’s fantastic – puntastic!” will do ;) ) before noon (GMT) on Monday 15th March and I’ll pick a winner at random.

I’m happy to ship internationally and remember to leave your email address in the email address field – it won’t be published on the site but let’s me get in touch with you if you win.

UPDATE – Monday 15th 2010

Thanks to everyone who entered. Our lucky winners are…

urban craft and Rachel! I’ll be in touch with you guys soon to get your addresses.

Thanks again to Rachael at Moon Times for providing the sponges – a great green alternative.