This question comes up a lot… Its natural…most of us what to spend the least amount of money we can… but the cost of an item and it’s value for money can be different things.
“Cost” is simple… it’s how much something costs you. “as little as possible” is probably what most people look for 
“Value for money” is more complicated…. it’s a personal measure - only you can decide that. It is how much value you put on the item compared to the monetary cost the item has. Think of it as a combination of how much you like the product, how much it suits you and works for you, and the price you pay for it. How happy are you about paying that cost for that item.
If you buy a dress for 50c but it doesn’t fit you so it stays in the back of the wardrobe…. it’s not very good value for money, even though it didn’t cost very much. Its value to you is nothing, it’s worthless because you can’t use it. If you buy an $80 dress that fits well and makes you feel like a sexy movie star, you’d probably find that to be good value for money…. but it cost a lot more than the 50c dress. The item has higher value to you, so you can feel that it was worth the price you paid for it. On the other hand, if you find a 50c t-shirt in a second hand store, and it fits, feels ok, doesn’t look too bad and you’re happy with it, then you’d probably find that better value for money than buying a $20 t-shirt new from a store. Cheap isn’t always a negative thing, it’s how much value it has to us that is a deciding factor if something is worth the price you paid or not. No matter what that price is.
If you want to be satisfied with your purchases, you need to look at value for money more than price alone. Just like you wouldn’t buy a 50c dress that doesn’t fit just because it’s cheap, the same concept applies with shopping for cloth pads. And just like going shopping for clothing, you wouldn’t just reach into a bargain bin and just take out something and buy it…. you need to look at what it is, the price, the design and fit, and see if overall it’s the right choice for you.
Enough of the shopping references, lets look to cloth pads…
The difference between what you get in a “pantyliner” or “pad” is HUGE. Take pantyliners for example. They can be any combination of fabrics:
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1 layer flannel/flannelette, one layer cotton
- 1 layer flannel/flannelette, one layer cotton, 2 layers hemp inside
- 1 layer hand dyed organic velour, 1 layer bamboo fleece inside, organic wool backing
So given the variation you can find in what makes up something as simple as a “pantyliner”… you can’t compare all brands by price alone, because what you get for your money can be completely different from brand to brand.
A hand dyed bamboo velour topped pantyliner with a cool just released amy butler cotton print backing and organic cotton fleece inside is going to cost more than a pantyliner made of just 3 layers of flannel….
To use that classic line… it’s like comparing apples and oranges!
So lets compare apples with apples then…Take a 3 layer flannel pantyliner for $3.00 and a 3 layer flannel pantyliner for $6.00. Same composition…. that makes comparison easier. but (always a but..) there may be size and shape differences. One may be twice the length of the other, so there is twice as much fabric in it. The type of flannelette/flannel used - one may be thicker quilter’s flannel, and one might be a thinner less quality one. How well is the product is sewn? Is the shape and style is something you think suits you? This is why it is important to pay attention to what the product descriptions tell you about the products.
Going back to the velour pantyliner vs the flannelette one…While one may be much more expensive than the other, the fabrics used are quite different. There are more layers and of more expensive fabrics in the higher priced pantyliner. So with the higher priced one, its monetary value is higher - most cost has gone into it. So a higher price is to be expected.
But is it better to have a more expensive fancy pad or a cheaper less fancy one?
It depends on your preference. If you’d find it more enjoyable to wear a fancy velour pad, then you would mostly like find it to be better “value for money” than a cheaper less fancy pad… because you would place a higher value on it (you would like it more), so then it’s value goes up. If you really don’t care about fancy fabrics and a $3 flannel pantyliner will suit you just fine, then for you, the enjoyment you would get for the fancier more expensive fabrics isn’t worth the extra price you would pay, so it wouldn’t be good value for money for you.
And it’s more than just the fabrics too. Absorbency, and the pad being suitable for your flow,body shape and lifestyle, is really THE most important thing you should be looking for in a pad. If you buy a cheap pad that isn’t sufficient for your needs, then its probably going to be tossed in the back of your stash and not used. So that’s just a waste of money, not value for money.
There are other factors that might influence value for money as well. Not just of the physical products on offer, but also how much value you put on the business making them as well. Some people prefer to shop at farmer’s markets and small stores rather than large chains - because they prefer their money to go to smaller businesses who may have betther business ethics than larger corporations. These choices are made on the feeling for the business, rather than on the actual items. You may feel buying from certain businesses is better even if it comes at a higher price.
For example if a pad seller used green energy (to power their machine & computer for example), used only recycled paper, purchased carbon offsets, sourced eco-friendly fabrics, but as a result offered their products at a higher price to someone not doing those things, then for some people that extra price would be worth it. Or someone who spends a lot of time and effort on customer service, who is sewing pads instead of having a job out of the home, so that they can stay home with their children rather than putting them in daycare, even if their pads aren’t such good quality… might represent a better value for money for you than a large factory type business whose quality is greater but customer service not as personal and doesn’t have that aspect of helping a mother be at home with the children.
Different people place different importance on these non-product aspects of a business. Some examples:
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Does the seler have a good reputation for quality and place a lot of care into making their products?
- Does the seller have a good reputation for being friendly and nice to deal with?
- Does the seller ever do anything for charity, pad advocacy, or to help other pad makers? (things that show they are interested in more than just selling)
- Does the seller work in an environmentally sustainable/conscious way?
- Does the seller use reclaimed, organic or environmentally conscious fabrics?
- Does the seller take the time and effort to produce hand dyed fabrics
- Is the seller making pads to earn a living or suppliment an income so they can stay at home with their children?
- Does the seller seem to put a lot of thought into their fabric choices?
While price might be the ultimate deciding factor for many people, it really is about more than that.
And while I can go on for ages about the costs that go into making pads (which I’ll save for another post), it’s worth remembering that the majority of cloth pads are handcrafted items. It can take from around 10 to 30 mins (or more) to make a single pad. From ironing fabrics, tracing out the pattern, cutting all the layers out, sewing them together, applying fasteners. Not to mention the business side of answering mail, searching for fabrics, photographing and uploading products, which can add up to be as consuming as a “proper” job.
I imagine most people dislike the idea of sweatshops. Surely everyone deserves to be paid a decent amout for the work they do? That also applies to pad makers. If a single pad can take 15 mins to make, 3 minutes to photograph and make available online, 1 minute in communicating with the buyer, 1 minute packaging and sending…plus the cost of materials to make the pad….. how much would that person make in wages for 20 mins working somewhere else? For the most part, you’ll probably find that most cloth pads are undervalued in terms of what the cost of producing them is. So many of them are already “cheap” for what they are and the amount of work that goes into producing them.
Ultimately if you’re after a “cheap” pad, then you are probably best to make your own, since that is going to be the cheapest option. Some people are not in a position to be able to afford or justify paying extra for fancy fabrics, and for a seller to be able to work from home… and do really have to look for whatever is cheapest, and that’s fair enough. But just comparing pads themselves by price alone is not a guarantee of providing the best thing for you.
Search for a bargain by all means, but also think of the real value of a cloth pad…..
