The use of plant-based fibers and bio-based ingredients in disposable absorbent hygiene products continues to expand as consumer preferences for natural ingredients and overall environmental awareness grows, while at the same time global anti-plastics legislation aims to limit the use of petroleum-based plastics.

“The natural hygiene market is certainly growing with much untapped opportunities as technology and supply chain evolve and consumer awareness improves,” says Liying Qian, head of Tissue and Hygiene, Euromonitor International.

Consumer expectation, business promotion and regulatory push are among the pillars driving this trend, she adds. “How these three pillars play out in the natural movement within the hygiene industry vary by market. For example, in the U.S., the brand push has played a bigger role relative to Europe, where policies targeting plastics reduction like the European Green Deal has been a more fundamental accelerator.”

The magnitude and outlook of this trend is also underpinned by investment happening on the upstream of supply chain, she says, referring to nonwoven materials such as Glatfelter’s GlatPure portfolio, absorbent hygiene components that are made with 100% plant-based and renewable fibers, and Suominen’s Biolace Natura, a developmental product utilizing hemp mixed with cellulosic fibers.

According to Marilyn Austin, CEO and co-founder of Hempress, a brand of hemp-based period care products, two-thirds of consumers prefer and are willing to pay more for sustainable products and the period category is included in this trend. “The period care category has seen significant growth, largely due to increased consumer awareness regarding the ingredients used in traditional period care products, as well as growing concerns about menstrual health, hormone health, and the environment,” she says.

Qian says the segment’s expansion is manifested in products featuring plant-based or bio-based ingredients or components, more prominently within feminine care and baby care. “Though the natural segment is also gaining attraction in adult incontinence, the magnitude is slightly weaker by measure of available product SKUs with ‘natural’ or other plant-based attributes, due in part to challenges in overcoming certain technical and cost barriers to meet both performance-based properties, which take the priority, and natural expectation.”

In some instances, companies that offer plant-based period products have expanded to include plant-based light incontinence products. Once such brand is The Honey Pot Company, which first launched nearly a decade ago with a line of washes and wipes, but soon after debuted menstrual care products like herbal and non-herbal pads, heavy flow pads, tampons and menstrual cups. Around two years ago, the company entered the incontinence category.

“Our humans were asking for pads that assisted in those ‘dribble moments,’ so we made six incontinence pad options with our beloved herbal essential oil blend and non-herbal options for humans who simply want protection,” says Beatrice Dixon, co-founder and CEO at The Honey Pot Company. “When we innovate at Honey Pot, we are always thinking about how we can reach more humans in a meaningful way and having safe and better-for-you incontinence pads was what they were asking for. We were so glad to deliver on this and be able to provide odor and leak protection for the humans that need it.”

The Honey Pot Company’s pads are made with a 100% cotton cover topsheet, and its tampons are made with organically grown cotton.

“We’re in the vagina business thus anything that touches the vulva and vagina has to be designed to cater to its needs,” says Dixon. “The responsibility means that we put our ingredients through rigorous analysis and construct that which is best for humans. That’s why organic cotton is an absolute non-negotiable but also why we’ve invested a tremendous amount of resources in our clinical testing.”

The Honey Pot’s portfolio is clinically tested, hypoallergenic, dermatologist-tested and gynecologist-approved.

And, like other smaller lifestyle brands in menstrual care, The Honey Pot Company’s emphasis on overall wellness is key to its brand. It also plays in other product categories like washes, wipes, suppositories, vulva cream, lubricants, anti-itch products and more.

“We’re the all-in-one destination for humans to build out their vaginal wellness rituals,” Dixon says. “Also, we like to say we’re in the empowerment business. We have built a brand on education, and we want to empower our humans on their personal wellness journey – to learn about themselves, to claim their own wellness, to be comfortable in their skin, despite the stigmatization we have all been conditioned to feel around our sexual, physical and mental health. Our products build upon that approach.”

Dixon says the plant-based hygiene market continues to grow as people become more informed about the products they use in terms of sustainability and total wellness. “It’s also becoming the norm,” she says. “It would be virtually impossible to enter this space without creating products that are made with vetted ingredients that deliver on efficacy and safety. The emphasis on self-care, health and wellness are also still very much so at the forefront of buying decisions. Humans want to buy products that are made with trusted ingredients and a brand that they see themselves reflected in to improve both their wellness routines and general needs.”

Here We Flo is another brand offering plant-based period and bladder care products. Founded by Susan C. Allen and Tara Chandra, Here We Flo uses both bamboo and organic cotton in its line up.

The idea for the business started in December 2013, when Allen and Chandra chatted in the university bathroom between classes. “We often talked about how we wanted to start a socially impactful business,” recalls Chandra. “I had studied economics at Columbia and Susan, who loved well-designed, eye-catching branding, was working for OSF—a major philanthropic organization. This combined with my observation that ‘I can’t find organic tampons anywhere in London,’ was the ‘aha’ moment behind our decision to start FLO.”

At the time, Chandra says the market was dominated by corporate brands that weren’t transparent about their ingredients and the effects they were having on bodies and the planet. “Here We Flo is on a mission to challenge shame and disrupt the period, bladder and sexual wellness markets with products that use organic and vegan materials, including tampons, pads and condoms,” she says. “In addition, we want to make people feel crazy confident about life’s messiest moments, discussing menstruation, bladder leaks and sex in a humorous, accessible, and empowering way. Our hope is that our products make you laugh, make you think and then make you feel brave enough to start a conversation about your own experiences.”

Here We Flo’s products are divided into three categories. FLO period care: pads, tampons and liners; glo sensitive bladder care: bamboo pads and liners with a charcoal chip to naturally neutralize odors; and XO! sexual wellness: condoms and lube. “We pride ourselves on all our products being vegan, organic and biodegradable,” Chandra says.

According to Allen, bamboo and organic cotton are highly absorbent and help to avoid leaks. “They are also soft and comfortable against the skin, reducing irritation and discomfort,” she says. “Additionally, bamboo and organic cotton are naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic, making them a healthy and sustainable choice for these types of products.”

Currently, Here We Flo’s products are available at retailers in the U.S. and U.K. Soon, the company will expand its range with longer liners and individual packs of tampons to give consumers more options.

Meanwhile, hemp is the fiber of choice for period care newcomer Hempress which offers a lineup of organic, biodegradable and regenerative hemp-based period care products. This includes day pads, night pads and liners. The company also offers cosmetic pads, swabs and a medical-grade silicone menstrual cup.

“What sets Hempress apart is our commitment to addressing the existing gaps in the period care market, particularly in terms of sustainability and transparency,” says Austin. “In the current market, many products claim to be sustainable but fall short in delivering genuinely eco-friendly and transparent solutions. While some may feature an organic fiber topsheet, the remainder of their composition often consists of synthetic materials. Additionally, several products make misleading claims of biodegradability.”

Hempress, on the other hand, offers products that are entirely crafted from organic hemp and cotton fibers, complemented by a biodegradable and plant-based PLA backsheet. “We maintain full control over our supply chain and possess proprietary product specifications, ensuring that we have comprehensive knowledge of our products, which we readily share with our customers,” she explains.

Additionally, Hempress manufactures its products in the European Union, adhering to the highest health and environmental standards. “This stands in contrast to the majority of period care products in the market, which are often produced in China, where concerns regarding supply chain transparency and regulatory compliance arise,” she says.

According to Austin, not only does hemp possess the advantages of organic cotton, but it also surpasses it in terms of sustainability, absorbency, durability and versatility. “Hempress products demonstrate superior liquid absorption and retention compared to other organic cotton alternatives available in the market,” she says. “The durability of hemp proves especially advantageous in personal care items like cosmetic pads and swabs, as it helps maintain product integrity without unraveling, a common issue with cotton products.”

U.K.-based Planera has taken a different route to sustainability. The company has developed a flushable sanitary pad made of cellulose. The pads, now branded as Fluus (Fluus is a portmanteau of “flush us”), uses Flushtec, a completely new technology, developed and owned by Planera, with a patent pending. “As part of our mission to hold brands accountable and give consumers an easy option to be more sustainable, we are at the early stages of conversations with manufacturers who are interested in licensing our technology, so watch this space,” says Dr. Olivia Ahn, CEO, Fluus by Planera.

Fluus uses a unique blend of biodegradable polymers including wood pulp, absorbent powder and water-soluble film that work with the star polymer—CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) which quickly absorbs blood and keeps it locked away while remaining 100% biodegradable. The company chose cellulose as the fiber because it is more widely available than other natural fibers such as cotton or hemp. Also, the tree sap-based adhesive is unique to Fluus as it contains no acrylics. “Fluus is the only disposable period pad on the market that does not use hot melt adhesive and therefore does not create microplastics,” Dr. Ahn says.

Although groups like the Responsible Flushing Alliance in the U.S. list sanitary pads and tampons as products that consumers should not flush, Dr. Ahn says the Fluus team is on a journey to educate people on the brand’s unique and revolutionary Flushtec technology and its flushability certification. To gives its consumers confidence, Fluus pads are certified flushable by the Water Research Centre (WRC), having passed the testing protocol (WIS 04-02-06), which guarantees that the pads will never block up sewer systems.

“The disposal journey of a standard period product can be complicated, but we know what happens to our pads once they are flushed,” she says. “After it travels through the drainage system, the disintegrated pad arrives at the water treatment center, having broken down into cellulose plant fibers half the size of an eyelash. It can safely pass through the screens where it is used as biogas and fertilizer, creating a circular product lifecycle.”

Dr. Ahn says the pad disappears and leaves no permanent waste. “It’s the only period product that breaks down in the toilet, similar to loo roll. With the power of the toilet flush, Fluus pads break down into plant fibers and biodegradable materials, which means no permanent waste is left behind, as opposed to the microplastics and chemicals left by other period products.”

Fluus pads are also completely biodegradable, including the wrapper and peel papers. “The problem with putting your used pad in the trash is that we lose control over where it ends up,” she says. “In the U.K., 56% end up in landfill and we can’t guarantee the correct environment for it to safely biodegrade.”

Fluus pads are currently available to purchase directly from the brand’s website, www.wearefluus.com. The company is also actively looking to expand its distribution channels over the coming year to make flushable period care available for more consumers. 

Meanwhile, period care brand August, a gender-inclusive and sustainable period care brand that first launched direct-to-consumer in June 2021, is in expansion mode. Earlier this year the company launched into Target stores nationwide. The brand’s first entry into physical retail stores include its line of period-positive tampons, liners and pads in over 400 Target stores across the U.S.

All August tampons, pads, and liners are sustainably made with 100% organic cotton materials, are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and free of harmful chemicals. Prioritizing transparency, August openly shares information about its supply chain on the website and discusses its practices with its community through its traceability page and FAQ page. In addition to being a certified 1% for the Planet company, August is also a Climate Neutral Certified company — the only tampon brand to have the certification.

Nadya Okamoto, one of the co-founders of August, had worked for years in the period advocacy space as a nonprofit leader and a consultant, as well as an author. “I kept feeling frustrations on roadblocks on how to change culture and influence the industry and felt that many of them could be solved if I had the opportunity to build a socially conscious and period positive brand that really centered transparency and sustainability. And that is what August is!” Okamoto says. “We are a gender inclusive period care brand that prides itself on leading with transparency, and an interest in changing the culture around periods. It’s ridiculous how much period stigma still exists today even in 2023, and I think August really exists to be able to shatter that period stigma and bring a bigger tone of celebration and dignity into conversations around periods.”

Next, the brand is gearing up to launch some new initiatives around fighting the tampon tax (an unfair sales tax placed on period care items considering them non-essential goods). “Since our launch, we’ve covered the tampon tax whenever possible for DTC orders, and we think we found a way to pay customers back for the tampon tax they pay (in the 20 states it still exists) when they buy August in stores,” says Okamoto.

Milan, Italy-based Corman, the manufacturer of Organyc feminine care products, has long been in the plant-based period product category. The company introduced the first range of 100% cotton feminine care pads in the early 1990s. In addition to organic cotton feminine care pads, the brand offers organic cotton tampons, facial wipes, nursing pads and bladder leakage pads.

Recently, Corman has taken a step further in its quest for sustainability when it announced last month the development of the first-ever biodegradable and compostable plastic tampon applicator, soon to be launched by the Organyc brand. Corman teamed up with Slovenia-based Tosama on the innovation.

After 10 years of patient and methodical research, Tosama’s and Corman’s research and development teams developed a technology that uses the waste products of wheat, corn and sugar cane, to transform it into a moldable biomass plastic. This new bioplastic can be injection molded at high speeds to create a plastic tampon applicator that is not only great for the planet but great for women too.

“Tosama is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tampons. And while creating 100% certified organic cotton tampons was achieved many years ago, achieving the same level of sustainability with a plastic applicator presented a challenge,” says Mojca Šimnic Šolinc, director of Tosama. “In business it’s ideal to move fast, but when creating something totally new and so important to the earth, applying patience and partnership is the key. We’re proud of the fact that Tosama and Corman research and development teams are the first to find a breakthrough and commercialize this important idea.”

Corman’s Organyc brand will be the first to offer the new biodegradable and compostable plastic applicator tampon. The product was formally introduced in Amsterdam, at the PLMA trade show on May 23 and will launch globally in the third quarter of this year.

Chiara Poggio, Europe and Middle East marketing manager for Corman and the Organyc brand, comments, “Plastic applicator tampons are preferred by women around the world because of the ease of insertion. Easier insertion also leads to easier accuracy of tampon placement, which helps stop leaks. But plastic is not great for the planet. Corman’s Organyc brand of period care promises women they can Expect Respect, respect for their bodies and the earth on which we all live. The opportunity to offer women this first no-compromise plastic applicator tampon, truly meets the Organyc brand’s promise to them.”

Diaper Developments

When it comes to sustainability, innovations in the baby diaper category have been well documented over the last decade. The Honest Company can be credited with putting diaper sustainability and ingredient transparency on the map when the brand’s diapers first launched in 2012. Since then, many diaper brands big and small have followed suit by detailing the raw materials of diaper components as well as innovating with different plant-based materials like sugarcane and bamboo. Each year, the number of baby diapers positioned as natural and plant-based continues to expand.

Kudos, a diaper brand that launched in 2021 and features 100% breathable cotton touching baby’s skin, recently received a boost when its founder Amrita Saigal appeared on the television show Shark Tank in January. Saigal secured $250,000 in funding in exchange for a 10% stake in the company from host Mark Cuban and guest host Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress and founder of lifestyle brand Goop. The duo agreed to invest in the diaper brand after hearing Saigal’s background as an MIT-trained engineer, a Harvard Business School graduate and a part of Procter & Gamble’s research team as well as the story behind developing the award-winning diaper brand.

“We were blown away by the positive response we received after Shark Tank and are so grateful for the support we’ve been shown by the parents who have been with Kudos from the start, and those who have discovered us through the show,” says Saigal. “Not only did we more than double our business in one weekend, but we also welcomed a whole new set of consumers dedicated to the same mission that we have of promoting a toxin-free and plastic-free future for the next generation.”

Because of the experience, Kudos also saw a lot of inbound interest from the Shark Tank audience for applying its Kudos technology to products for adult incontinence. “We are looking forward to entering into that market in the future,” Saigal says.

Kudos uses a 100% cotton topsheet, meaning that the baby’s bottom touches only cotton, not polypropylene, which is found in most other diapers. Cotton is the number one pediatrician-recommended material to combat and prevent skin conditions like diaper rashes and eczema. Other diaper features include a double layer of absorbent material to protect against leaks, extreme softness and thinness.

“In our research before launching Kudos, what really stood out to us was how much parents care (as they should!) about the materials touching baby’s skin,” Saigal explains. “And when it comes to what’s touching baby’s skin, no material is better than cotton. There’s a reason that the doctor recommends cotton underwear for adults, just like there’s a reason that all the best baby clothes are made from 100% cotton.”

Cotton is naturally soft, breathable and hypoallergenic. It is also naturally very absorbent. “This aspect of cotton can be a double-edged sword,” Saigal says. “On the one hand cotton soaks up moisture fast, but on the other hand you need to figure out how to get that moisture out of the cotton and into the core of the diaper. That’s where our patent-pending and award winning DoubleDry tech comes in.”

Kudos’ DoubleDry technology features two layers of absorption and thousands of funnels built in to funnel moisture away from baby’s bum and into the core of the diaper so that baby’s skin can stay dry.

Kudos’ ultimate goal is to become the No. 1 eco-friendly consumer absorbents company in the world, Saigal says. “Diapers are just the start.”

The company recently launched baby wipes made with Veocel Lyocell fibers, and next it will be turning its attention to training pants (applying its DoubleDry technology) and adult diapers in the future.

Another new diaper brand touting natural materials is Freestyle, which developed a baby diaper engineered with a proprietary 100% tree-free BambooTek core, unlike most other diapers that feature tree-based fluff pulp.

The company’s founders, Mike Constantiner and Russ Wallace, teamed up after they were both trying to figure out what they wanted to do next professionally. Wallace previously worked at another diaper brand. “We started talking about different opportunities as parents in the baby care and parenting space, and talking about brands,” Constantiner recalls. “Russ had a relationship with a supplier from his previous company, which we picked up a conversation with, and there was an opportunity to develop a very unique product.”

According to Constantiner, every other diaper on the market uses tree pulp in the core, which, depending on the diaper, is roughly 30% to 35% of the material in the product. “We’ve seen reports that upwards of one billion trees could be cut down a year to support the global diaper market, and we thought that it was a really interesting opportunity to instead of using tree pulp to work with bamboo from an organic farm.”

After exploring the opportunity, Constantiner and Wallace entered into an R&D process with the supplier, and after developing what they thought was a really good diaper product, built a brand that focuses on the youthfulness and creativity that goes into parenting. “That was really the impetus of Freestyle,” he says. “We felt like there was an opportunity to create a diaper that checks all the boxes. Most importantly it performs well. It also has some unique innovation on the sustainability side that it isn’t just greenwashing—there is material impact while not affecting performance—and we’re able to offer it at a price point that’s acceptable to most families.”

On the technology side, Wallace says the bamboo-based core is a drier pulp. “The job of the fluff pulp in the diaper is to spread the moisture around so that the moisture can reach the super absorbent polymer which does the heavy lifting,” he says. “In our case, it turns out that using bamboo instead of wood pulp has a material and performance impact.”

Freestyle had its baby diapers lab tested at SGS in preparation for conversations with some big box retailers and, according to the company, it outperformed in absorption capacity and moisture retention compared to some of the biggest brands in the natural diaper space.

And, even as a number of new baby diaper brands continue to crop up, Freestyle’s founders are optimistic that their brand will stand out.

“I think consumers are always interested in a better value package and I think that’s going to be especially true over the next 12-24 months if everybody’s prediction becomes true with the recession, so if something happens, I think people will be appreciative of a different presentation on shelf,” Wallace says. “Our strategy all along has been to have a meaningful retail presence. We show up very differently on shelves, we talk about parenting very differently, and we present a very different value grid where there’s a unique sustainability claim that I think is meaningful, a unique performance claim that does outperform what has been traditionally presented to the consumer as the best diaper, and we can offer all of that at a price point that is below all those offerings.”