Hey everyone! Been a while. I moved countries recently, so I kinda forgot how wonderful the internets can be.

Anyway, I was hanging out with a friend of mine yesterday, who asked me if I had any tampons as she'd just run out. She was, moments before, complaining about how annoying they are to keep around given that her job requires her to travel quite frequently.

Of course, I informed her that I don't have any tampons, because I use a cup.

Cue confused look.

I explained it to her, and she said "Seriously? Why did no one tell me about this 10 years ago?" and promptly got online and started looking.

The Keeper/Moon Cup is the easiest cup to find in New Zealand, and she asked me if that one was ok. I told her, sure, as a product, but the company has some pretty appauling business ethics. She's a lawyer, so we got into a bit.

She got back online, and spent about 20 minutes searching through sites. I asked her if she needed help, as surely cups aren't THAT hard to find online, even if NZ is kind of out of the way.

"It's not that - it's that I'm trying to find someplace to buy the Mooncup UK. That'll learn 'em."

I found that a bit hilarious.

Eventually she found someplace willing to ship to NZ, and there ya have it.

Hopefully she'll like it. I anticipate a confused phone call at some point, but that's half the fun. :)

There are so many women who are automatically frightened by the idea of cups, and so many people in general who think I'm a bit weird for caring so much about the ethics of the companies I support. So it was nice to run into someone who is open-minded.

But I thought I'd just let you know: score one for cups!

Love,
Cassie

I posted a while back about the Keeper/Moon Cup contest, and how I got an email message saying that I won… There were several winners, actually, I guess the more people that enter, the more people win. So I was informed that the cups would be shipped out on August 28th. So I’ve been religiously checking my mail… And it came today!

( Review And Pictures Here... )

I entered that contest where you write a letter explaining your reasons for wanting to try a cup Keeper or Moon Cup US, and if they like your letter best, you win a free cup!  Well, I just checked my email today and-- I won!  YAY! :)

They said they are having another contest, starting on August 15th.  So if you are interested in trying one of those cups, or if you are not doing so good financially, and really want to try your first cup, here is a link to the contest (I had to browse this group to find it):

http://ultimatemoneyblog.com/my-review-of-the-keeper-menstrual-cup

Just sharing the good news, and encouraging others to go for it!  Also, I think its a good idea for anyone else who wins (I've seen one other person here who did) to let everyone here know, and add the link to your post  keep this awesome contest going for everyone!  This is such a great thing they are doing, gives cup users/fans something to strive for.

So, I spent a lot of time reading this site and doing tons of research before I decided which cup I should buy, and I picked the Keeper Moon Cup. I did this with a full understanding of the Keeper company's reputation, because I thought that with what I knew about all of the cups and comparisons between them (thanks mostly to this community!), that the Keeper Moon Cup would be the best fit for me.

( Read more... )

After reading a bit in another thread about inability to ship to the US for a lunette, is the Keeper/Mooncup dispute going to prevent ALL overseas cups from delivering to the US?  I did look on the website femininewear.co.uk and they did have a warning about inability to ship to the US.

In my opinion, this is getting out of hand.  I sorta...barely understand preventing Mooncup UK from being shipped to US but Lunette and all the others?  For a company dedicated to "freeing women from dependency," this seems like making the American consumers dependent on Keeper or Diva

If you have recently bought a lunette, where did you buy it? What are other options for Mooncup UK/overseas cup users when they need a new cup?  What can we do to prevent this from getting even more out of hand?

What are your thoughts?


And Keeper company is as old as me since I was born in '87. :p

Edit:  Or it is the FDA.  Either way, I want the FDA to stay out of my vagina.  Considering all the things the FDA had approved that wound up being dangerous(like the heart drug from a few years ago).  

Hey ladies. Final update on my discussions with the Keeper company, and it's not much of an update. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here.

I had some sources from the legal battle and info about the boycott forwarded to Ms. Crawford and, surprise surprise, she never called me back.

I sent another email a couple days ago letting her know that I was leaving the country on the 25th and can no longer be reached on my US phone after that date (which is true), so if she had any intent of speaking with me she needed to call me back soon.

I would have called her, but she called me on a private number. Again - surprise surprise.

So, it is now 15 minutes into March 24th, and still no call. I suspect I won't be getting one before I leave, so I guess this is the end of our discussion.

To recap, it was basically me citing all the things I've read and researched, and her fervently denying it ever happened as though I should take the word of the president of an unethical company over public legal records.

*sigh*

I tried.

Love,
Cassie

Hey ladies. The president of the Keeper company DID call me (her name is Ms. Crawford).

If you don't know what I'm talking about, click this.

Unfortunately she did so while I was out, so we had a limited discussion about the MoonCup fiasco, and she told me she would call back Saturday or Sunday... which so far she has not.

But this was the gist of the conversation we DID have.

She almost acted like this was the first she'd heard of it. Which is impossible, because I have public legal records of disputes they've had in court. She kept saying things like "it must have had to do with them not being FDA approved," and I kept saying "no, they have been prevented from shipping because of copyright issues WHICH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR."

I've read up on this. I am quite sure it has nothing to do with the FDA, otherwise the Lunette, FemmeCup, etc, would all be banned as well.

She kept saying they've used the trade name for years, which is just flat out untrue. The Keeper MoonCup wasn't released until several months ago. MoonCup UK has been around for years upon years. I don't know if she was implying that since the Keeper company is older than MoonCup, they can just take whatever name they want? I don't get it.

I felt like the conversation just went in circles and she used a different straw man every time. She asked me for some sourcing, so I sent her the link to the legal dispute, the boycott post from this community, and the letter one of the members of this community got from MoonCup UK in regards to this issue.

Somehow I don't think she's going to call me back.

Any hope I had of having a real discussion about this has kind of gone out the window.

So, I'll let you know if I get a call back, or anything interesting happens. But as it stands... pretty much what I expected.

Love,
Cassie

I wrote an email to the Keeper company expressing my disappointment with the whole MoonCup shenanigans. I also said that as a result of it I wouldn't be buying their products, and would be sure to inform others in the market for a menstrual cup of their actions as well.

And this was the very interesting and unexpected response I got back a few days later:

"Thank you for your email and the information. The president of The Keeper Inc. would like to speak with you. Would it be possible to reach you via phone? If so, may we please have your contact information."

Wow. Wasn't expecting that. I wrote back that I would be more than happy to talk with them. I'll let you ladies know how it goes.

Love,
Cassie

EDIT ( My first letter - a bit long-ish. )

EDIT: Well, seems that I've been bumped to the front of the email line since my first letter. Took them 3 days to respond to the first one (which really isn't that bad, and I'd not expected any reply at all), but they've just sent me another saying that my number has been passed to the president of Keeper Inc. whose name is Ms. Crawford. Not sure if I should expect a call today or not, but my phone is turned on. :)

I have a book about ethical consumerism (The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience) that made a point. I've heard that petitions (especially on-line ones) don't carry much tout with companies. And boycotting does no good if you don't let the company know what you're doing. The book mentioned writing (or emailing) the company to let them know specifically that you are boycotting, and spreading the word to your friends to do the same).

The book gave Wal-Mart as an example, and said you can make more of a difference, even if you still shop at Wal-Mart, just buy contacting the company and telling them you don’t than by not shopping there, but not letting them know you are doing so.

This brings up an important point about the Keeper (or any "alternative" menstrual product, really). They can't really advertise effectively, and word-of-mouth is a powerful tool for these companies (especially with the way many of us sing the praises of our cups to anyone who will listen). How many of us found cups because we heard someone else (either in person or online) talking about them? Even the stickers we may have seen in the bathrooms were put there by a cup lover spreadin' the word. Now how many discovered them on our own (tv adds, radio adds..)? Probably not many.

This gives us a bit more power in this situation than we would have against a company like Wal-Mart or KFC. Even people who use and love Keeper products can help the effort (if they so choose), by writing to the company telling them they aren't going to support the Keeper or Moon Cup (US). Saying you read about the problem on an on-line menstrual cup community will also let them know that many others are seeing it. If we have any power as consumers, it would be in a situation like this.

Just a suggestion.

In keeping with the recent post about why Mooncup UK can no longer sell their product to people in the US, I followed some links and found this link: www.petitiononline.com/keeper/petition.html. The petition states that we feel that Keeper made a decision that is both confusing and unethical, and that Keeper should re-name their Moon Cup to something else. I thought it may be something that many of us would want to sign or promote.

Furthermore, someone mentioned setting up some sort of third-party system, wherein someone else would recieve packages from Mooncup UK and send them on. I live in Canada, and if anyone had some ideas on how to set that up, I'd be willing to help.

EDIT: I always wanted to say that personally, I won't be purchasing from this company because their practices are wrong, but I realize that some people will/have and there's nothing wrong with that. If you still like Keeper products, by all means, go for it. There's nothing wrong with the products, it's their business ethics I have an issue with.

I wrote to Mooncup UK asking if they could reveal why they no longer ship to the USA. They wrote me back and were very nice. I doubt I'll be getting over there any time soon -- although I don't really need a new cup, if I do travel to the UK I'll be buying a new one. Heh.

Dear Andi,

Thank you very much your email and please accept our apologies for the delay in responding. As you can imagine we have been inundated with emails like yours asking about sales to the US.

I’m afraid it is no longer possible to buy a Mooncup for delivery to a US address from our website or any of our distributor’s websites since the 31st January 2009. Sadly another menstrual cup company has trademarked our name Mooncup in the USA, which leaves us with no alternative than to cease all Mooncup sales to customers based there. We are obviously very disappointed about this but as an ethical company it is important to us to do the right thing and abide by the law. Please note this applies to the USA only and not to Canada or any other countries.

We are grateful for your positive feedback about the Mooncup and wanted to ask if you would be happy for us to post your comments on the testimonials section of our website. Please could you let me know?

I’m sorry that we are not able to help you to get a new Mooncup. If you are planning a trip over to this side of the pond at any stage, get in touch and we can provide you with the details of European stockists.

Kind regards

Hi All,

I purchased a Keeper Moon Cup a while back and, well, it didn't work out. I ended up purchasing a Diva that I am really happy with.

One of the reasons I started with the Mooncup was the 90 day return policy.

So,I try and return it. The retailer (goddesspads.com), after calling them 3 times and leaving messages, finally returned my call and said it's the manufacturer's warranty, and that it needs to be returned to them. Lovely.

I call keeper, and speak to a guy (yup, as in a man) and explain the situation. He said to send it back, with a letter explaining, and the reciept if I have it. I told him I didn't purchase it from them, but from a retailer, and he said it was fine. Okay.  Already this seems fishy in the days of computerized everything and return authorization numbers, etc. But I go along with.

Today I get my keeper, my letter, and a note scribbled on an *index card* that says "Sorry, but you must return to the place of purchase."

Now, I certainly can see where the retailer wanted to give me the run around. But, what the hell - I called keeper, said about 6 times that I didn't purchase it from them, and was still told all would be fine.

Has anyone else returned a Keeper Mooncup or Keeper? What did you do? Were you actually able to get a refund?

So, I'm really terrified that I've been duped. Allow me to explain.

I ordered a US Moon Cup, style B from thekeeperinc.com back on March 7 of this year. I have yet to receive it. I've emailed them multiple times (more than 10 by now, stopped counting around 8) about this, and have yet to feel that it is resolved (i.e. still no Moon Cup). When they email me back, they never say what's going on (oh, we've lost your address, lalala...), they just ask me some ambiguous-sounding question (what's your last name?, your address? are you sure you've been charged for this?), and then I don't hear anything for a week or two, so I email again (HEY, still no Moon Cup guys, what gives?)

Has anyone else experienced this?

Also, recently, there were some strange charges on my credit card, and this is the only "funny" thing I've ordered online. I usually only use online bill-pay and never order from the internet, so I'm really scared that they stole my credit info. or something. (Note: I've already fixed this @ the bank and am not completely fucked) But I'm just worried, and would really like my $37 + wasted time back. T_T

Am I completely alone?

EDIT: OH, I should add: I also plan to purchase a Divacup instead now from South Coast Shopping since I saw the links posted to this community (hey, if I can get it cheaper, I might as well!), but are they reliable? I really want a cup without getting burned by a company, and I can't buy one from a retailer where I live, so my only options are online.

Hello, after joining and reading as much as I could possibly read, I've decided to buy a cup! Around here, the closest thing I could find in stores was Insteads [I checked at Target, Walmart and Kmart. Target and Walmart stocked 4 boxes, placed either on the highest shelf or on the very bottom. I couldn't even find them at Kmart.] Insteads are cool, but I want something more.. permanent?

So anyways, I decided I want to buy a Mooncup. I found these three sites:
mooncup.com (ohio)
keeper.com (ohio)
thekeeper.com (texas)

Which one do I buy from?

So I ordered my moon cup on Sunday. The money was taken out of the account on Wednessday but I haven't got an e-mail saying that the order has been recieved or that it has been shipped. So yesterday I e-mailed them and I still haven't heard any thing.
Here are the questions.

1. shouldn't they have e-mail me at least letting me know that the order was recieved?
2. Has anyone else had this happen?

Oh and I ordered it from Keeper.com. I also called the 1 800# and the women said that she can't look anything up but she could give me the address to write them, Are you kidding me!

Does anyone have a # that I could use to get through to someone that can look up orders?

Thank you.

Hello!

First of all, I want to say that I have NO attachment to the Keeper company, other than being a VERY satisfied costumer, and having several friends who like me, are extremely happy with their products.

I do NOT sell, any menstrual cups, of any brand.

I just want to say that it makes me sad when people repeat constantly how much they dislike the Keeper/Moon Cup.

We do have things to thank them.( Read more )

http://www.petitiononline.com/keeper/petition.html

I just joined today.. but I found some info that might be of interest to ladies who come here

there are actually two mooncups.. one is the original UK version the Mooncup.. and then the keeper inc made a "moon cup"...
that is what the petition is all about.. I was given a heads up recently  and thought I should pass along the info (sorry if nobody cares.. I just wanted to help

eta.. I have NOT signed the petition... I was just giving a heads up

and I meant I joined this group today.. sorry I dont always clairify completely the first time around
*stupid me!*

The other day I got some Moon cups off of ebay. They seem odd to me though because they look a little different and say "Made in USA" on them. I thought moon cups were made in the UK... Are there actually two different brands of menstrual cup both called Moon cup? Or is there some underground counterfeit menstrual-cup business or something? On this website it mentions both:
http://www.mykeepercup.com/questions.html

But if you go to this site, it doesn't mention the moon cup:
http://www.thekeeperinc.com/

The first site uses the same logo as the second site, but the address is slightly different if you look closely. The second site looks more reputable if you ask me.

Also, on an unrelated note I wonder about the holes. I notice that the Diva Cup has the holes higher up than the Keeper or the Mooncup. Does the different position make much of a difference? Is higher/lower holes more likely to cause leakage in anyone's experience?

Thanks in advance.

It seems that there is a new silicone version of the Keeper. I read that on the website of a France seller of The Keeper. They are calling the silicone model the "Mooncup made in USA". It's a bit confusing, is it the same model as the Mooncup UK or is it a different model? It looks like the mooncup but you have the three months money back guarantee and they say it's the same model as The Keeper. On The keepers website they say nothing about a silicone model.

http://actesante.encatalogue.com/
go to > Femme
go to > les protections feminés
and then in the text go to > Coupelle en silicone médical

here's the picture
http://actesante.encatalogue.com/femmes/mooncup/images/mooncup-usa.gif