Say “NO!” to knock-off cups!
I am an owner of a knockoff menstrual cup. I can say it’s one of my biggest regrets, and because of this, it is something I have become pretty passionate about.
Someone had advertised a cup on mc-sales.livejournal.com. I tried to do my research before I bought it. There had been journal entries made about the cup that I ended up buying, and it had been used without issue, so I didn’t really think much of it. There was even a website at one point for it (though it was down when I tried to access it). I guess then I didn’t really know what a knockoff was. I do now.
When I received the cup, I noticed it was firmer than the other cups that I owned. My guess is that it was made of industrial quality silicone, instead of high quality medical grade silicone like some other high-quality makers use. It’s not the softest thing out there. The stem was bent and the seam where the two sides of the molding met together was evident. The instructions that came with the cup were from another website, if I recall, and like I mentioned, the website for the “Jasmine cup” didn’t work when I tried to access it. It is a combination of a Diva Cup and Lunette Cup. In the photo below you can clearly see the rough seam and bent stem.
I used the cup and it has worked fine, besides the poor quality. Maybe I'm somehow lucky. I've heard of others who have had worse experiences with their knockoff cups-- funny smells (I would not feel comfortable putting a foul smelling cup into my vagina!),cups that you can tell are actually plastic, and even cups falling apart at the seams after being sterilized!
I bought it for $10 + $3 for shipping, so luckily, it wasn’t a total investment wasted. (Though of course, knock-offs cups are typically appealing due to their low cost anyway). While I can still use mine if I want, I choose not to. I have better cups I would rather use!
Anyway...After a while, my ignorance started to wear off and I realized that the cup I had bought-thinking it was legit-was a knockoff. I then began to feel really guilty about it morally, to think that I was maybe one or two people away from basically something illegal just makes me shudder to this day. If you're thinking of buying cups in a co-op, please consider other alternatives! It means you're just a person or two away from illegal activity. Also: I have actually been told that it may illegal to resell some of these cups within the U.S. Maybe that doesn't bother you like it does me, but it is something you should really keep in mind. Is it worth the risk?
Over time and talking to some people, I had a few other realizations come my way:
Maybe the biggest of all was the fact that you can never be sure what knock-off cups are made of. Like I said above, I feel mine may have been made with industrial silicone and not medical grade silicone. There’s no way I can truly be certain of this-and THIS is an issue. For dyed cups, there’s no way to know the quality or content of the dyes. If you are choosing a cup to get away from the chemicals in disposables and/or just to be more mindful of your health, are you really okay exposing yourself to unknown materials and/or dyes? Is the money you can potentially save really worth the risk? Also in terms of safety & materials, please notice that knockoff cups do not have FDA approval.
The second thing that came to mind, which kind of goes with the first, is that knock-off cups are just not made with the buyer in mind. You can pay $13 (or cheaper) for a knock-off cup, and have no idea what it’s made of, who made it, where it was made, etc. Or you can put your money to a company that truly cares about its customers and has your health in mind. You can contact them directly to ask them questions about the quality of the products. You can’t do this with the knockoff cups on Ebay or bought through co-ops and get an honest answer. Most well-known brands are FDA approved and the materials they use are safe for the body (and they say so!). They go out of their way to include instructions (their own! not illegally stolen from another company), stickers, pamphlets, etc, and overall enlighten & educate their customers. Some companies even donate money or cups to needy menstruators in other countries. (Yes, I did kind of just make that word up. I am trying very hard to be conscious of using gendered language, here). Long story short, these cup companies are very proud of their products and care about their customers, and it shows.
After a while, the voice in my head started to go from “you’re so stupid!” to turning into more of an activist one. The thought that I kept coming back to, and now preach to others is: “It’s better to pay a bit more for a company who cares about you and legitimately wants to help you, is proud of their company, and who makes good, quality products, than to try to save a few bucks and buy from a company who doesn’t care who you are, has stolen design ideas & directions from other companies, and only wants to sell you a half-assed product.”
I understand the temptation to buy a cheap, knock-off cup. I'm guilty of it. But I can also firmly say I have regretted the decision ever since and will never buy a knock-off cup again...
And yes, there are people who swear by their "cheapies" and recommend them. Please, think about your health. Do you really want to put a cup made of questionable materials in your vagina!?
So how do you save money on quality cups?
If you are looking to save a few bucks on a cup or if you're not sure if cups are for you and you'd just like to test one before investing any more-- check out mc-sales.livejournal.com. While some cups listed there are used (these can be sterilized), some are often brand new! They are quite often discounted from their full price. Lower priced cups can sometimes be found for sale in the Facebook groups RUMPS Lovers & Paddicts B/S/T and occasionally in Cloth Pads B/S/T and a cloth diaper community called diaperswappers.com in their "personal items" section. Furthermore, some companies like Meluna will sell you an imperfect item in order to try out their shape & sizes, though these can't be used for flow, just testing purposes. And if all of these options fails for you and you're still hoping to find a cup to try, there are often times when companies will give you a free product in exchange for a public review (I've heard of this happening for Diva Cup for sure). If really none of these appeal options to you, you can always check out sales. Fleurcup has sales often and Meluna has combination sets that allow you to try more than one size or shape. Femmecup just had an awesome, one day 50% off sale... I got one for $15 with shipping! I also know that Feminine Wear has discount codes that will give you a % off of your order every so often.
Finally, if you're concerned about spending so much on a cup that may not work for you, keep in mind that many people will buy and/or barter for used cups. You can list any cups you don't want or that don't work for you on mc-sales or any of the resale pages I mentioned above. While you can't get all of your money back, you can get a big chunk of it back or sometimes exchange a cup for a different one, cloth pads, sponges, etc! So please, if you're just wanting to try a cup to know how it may work for you, know that there are other, better options out there besides shady and sometimes poorly made knock-off cups from Ebay and sold in co-ops.
Please don't be swayed by the super low price tag on these horribly made cups; there are other, better options. Please think about yourself and your health before you buy. And also, if in doubt, please ask around and do your research before you buy.
~clothchaos