Menstrual 'Care' Products Contain Toxic Forever Chemicals
Jasmine PanayiotouThere are very few products women can say they have NO choice but to purchase, and for that be entirely true. However, tampons, menstrual cups, sanitary pads, girls' chosen time-of-the-month equipment are among the very few.
Nonetheless, that doesn't make the available products exempt from being pink-taxed, or apparently, toxic.
Let's go back a little.
When were sanitary products first tested?
Did you know that period pads were first tested using real menstrual blood in 2023? Three years ago. Prior to this, they were designed using one key ingredient: saltwater. Oh, and decades-old research from the 80's and 90s.
It wasn’t until August 2023 that researchers at Oregon Health & Science University published the first widespread scientific study testing modern commercial menstrual products using real human blood. Specifically, expired packed red blood cells. And the findings were daming...
How period pads were designed
Published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, the findings revealed that product absorbency had been significantly misrepresented, because blood and saline behave nothing alike. (Who's shocked? Not me)
Blood is thicker, more viscous, and more variable. As the study authors put it, the science had in fact been outdated for forty years. In fact, lead researcher Bethany Samuelson Bannow told Scientific American:
"we were probably missing a lot of heavy menstrual bleeding,” said lead researcher Bethany Samuelson Bannow.
Once these findings became public, so did a flurry of opinion articles, raising bigger questions. As our trust in the period care industry began disintegrating, independent testing was done to determine what our monthly sanitary products are really made from.
What are your period pads made of?
A 2024 systematic review published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology found measurable levels of phthalates, parabens, volatile organic compounds, dioxins, fragrance chemicals, and other endocrine-disrupting compounds in menstrual products (Marroquin et al., 2024).
Which brands are selling toxic menstrual care products?
Mainstream brands, including Always and Kotex, have been found to contain PFAS (so-called “forever chemicals”) and carcinogens. These were identified after the produce had already been FDA approved.
How do these chemicals harm women?
The study goes on to explain that the vaginal and vulvar tissue absorbs chemicals directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the liver’s filtration system entirely. Over a lifetime, the average menstruator uses more than 11,000 tampons or pads. Long-term exposure to such toxic chemicals can be extremely dangerous for not only women's reproductive systems, but for the entire female body.
And now, every month, women face the same impossible choice: affordable products that may carry chemical risk, or expensive “clean” alternatives marketed with pink prices and packaging.
So we did the research for you.
Affordable Toxin-Free Period Products
Organic and chemical-free products use 100% certified organic cotton, renewable wood pulp, and plant-based backings. They contain no synthetic plastics, rayon, chlorine bleach, or artificial fragrance, which may cause discomfort, burning, or itching.
Natracare
Organic cotton pads and tampons, widely available at Boots, Holland & Barrett, and most supermarkets. From £2.50.
Flo
Organic cotton tampons and pads stocked at Sainsbury’s, ASOS, and online. From £3.
Totm
UK subscription brand, organic cotton across their full range. From £4 per cycle, delivered.
Ohne
organic tampons with optional CBD applicator. Available at Selfridges and online. From £5.
Organyc
Offers pads, tampons and liners made with 100% certified organic cotton. The brand states its products are free from perfumes, dyes, pesticides and plastics.
Sources: DeLoughery et al., BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 2023 | Samuelson Bannow quoted in Scientific American, August 2023 | Marroquin et al., BJOG, 2024 (PMID: 37743685)