When I first started looking into the reusable menstrual product community and was reading as much information and soaking it in like the Stacey shaped sponge that I am I was very confused by a lot of the acronyms that there were. So I thought it would be helpful to list them here to help make sense of the acronyms and terminology that is used within the community. I'll keep coming back when I think of more to add to the list as I see more and if you think of any that I have missed leave me a comment down below and I'll be sure to get it added to the list!
RUMPS - reusable menstrual products
CSP - cloth sanitary products
Mama cloth - This is another way people in the community can refer to reusable menstrual products. Many users of cloth pads found them because they use cloth nappies on their children and this is most likely where the phrase came from. However some people feel that this phrase isn't inclusive of those who don't or can't have children.
RTS - ready to ship. This is a phrase that cloth pad makers use when advertising their products as ready to buy and find a new home.
WAHM - work at home manufacturer. This is the phrase given to the wonderful women and men who create beautiful bespoke RUMPS from their homes.
WIWTM - What I wore this month. This is where people share pictures of the cloth pads, menstrual cups and other reusable menstrual products they wore on their cycle (once they have been washed of course!)
ILP - inter labial pad. This is usually oval or eye shaped and is folded and worn internally to help direct the flow of your menstrual blood onto your cloth pad. They are usually cotton topped and fleece backed with no core.
Cup spot - A circular shaped place you can put your cup down on when you are emptying it out and cleaning it during your cycle. they are also usually cotton topped and fleece back with no core.
Scrundies - Underwear that are designed in a variety of shapes and styles. They have no elastic in them and are super comfortable to wear. Typically they do not have any absorbency in them and you wear a cloth pad around the gusset of the middle just as you would a typical pair of underwear but some makers do include an absorbency and will work with you to create a custom piece.
Terms used to describe pad absorbency:
Liner
Light
Moderate
Regular
Heavy
Super Heavy
Over Night
Postpartum
Fabrics:
OCV - organic cotton velour
OCBV - organic cotton bamboo velour
OBV - organic bamboo velour
OBF - organic bamboo fleece
SOBF - super organic bamboo fleece
HOBF - heavy organic bamboo fleece
Terms that are used when buying, selling and trading pads:
B/S/T - busy/sell/trade. This is generally found on Facebook groups where people offer up pads and menstrual cups up to sell or trade for other things that they know will work for them.
New - As it was when it was bought, nothing has been done to it.
Prepped/Pre-Washed - Washed prior to use as recommended but not used.
EUC - excellent used condition
VGUC very good used condition
GUC - good used condition
UC - used condition
pilling/pilled - where bobbles have appeared on the fabric as a result of washing
ppd - postage paid domestic; which means the price listed for the pas includes the price of postage and shipping.This is usually used by US cloth pad group members and means you will need to ask about international postage and shipping prices to your home country.
pp/pp ready - PayPal and/or PayPal ready. This is the most commonly used method of payment between two parties when buying from one another as it is the safest and security way to pay over the internet.
ISO - in search of. People may post in various group that they are looking for a particular kind of pad; be it length, absorbency, topper or maker.
Seconds/Thirds - These are terms used to refer to the quality of a pad. Usually this will come from the maker themselves and they will offer up their RUMP at a discount because they feel that it is not up to their usual standard. There might be flaws, stitching issues, scratched or chipped snaps or any other issue that the maker will draw attention to. Seconds and thirds quality pads are usually always still functional but just aren't as aesthetically pleasing as a maker's usual standard.
I hope that was helpful and not too difficult to read. That's everything I can think of at the moment but like I said at the beginning of the post please feel free to get in contact and let me know if there are other things you can think of or things I have missed out or if you feel I have incorrectly defined something.
