9 Eco-Friendly Tampons To Soak Up Your Period Sustainably
Some believe that periods are like punctuation for the sentence of womanhood; others see it as a moment to soak in the pause of your book of life.
Whether your monthly moon time is gory or glorious, one thing’s for sure: it requires tools.
Beyond heating pads and Netflix, we’re talking eco-friendly tampons.
Wait just one Midol minute….are tampons eco-friendly?
While we personally prefer eco-friendly alternatives to tampons—like reusable pads, and menstrual cups—we know that some period peeps are most comfortable with disposables.
Fortunately, there’s a clot of options out there when it comes to the most sustainable tampons made from biodegradable materials.
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The Best Sustainable Tampons To End Bloody Eco Harm… Period.
TOTM won’t cramp your style with their GOTS-certified 100% organic cotton eco-friendly tampons, and they donate a portion of each purchase to endometriosis research and care.
No matter what month it is, climate and plastic-neutral August assists your time of the month with hypoallergenic organic cotton and no toxins.
Or when mother nature’s red wedding spills, try DeoDoc’s biodegradable tampon applicators to ensure the most eco-flow.
Grab your hot water bottle and string your way to the bottom to learn how we bled the menstruation market to find the bloody best biodegradable tampons.
The Full List Of Eco Tampons
- DeoDoc | Visit Store
- August | Visit Store
- TOTM | Visit Store
- Viv | Visit Store
- Cora | Visit Store
- DAME | Visit Store
- Rael | Visit Store
- Tampon Tribe | Visit Store
- Daye | Visit Store
1. DeoDoc
DeoDoc’s Tampons With Biodegradable Applicators
Go with the flow thanks to DeoDoc’s naturally absorbent eco tampons made of 100% certified GOTS organic cotton—and zero of anything else.
Designed by female gynecologists and doctors, the tampon’s hypoallergenic soft cotton layers provide a super-comfy fit and won’t shed.
They come with a biodegradable cardboard applicator and packaging, meaning you’re likewise helping keep the planet and your lady bits plastic free.
We’ve tested these out ourselves and love how the light (but still biodegradable!) coated cardboard texture makes insertion smoother than other cardboard applicator tampons we’ve tried.
In the cardboard tampons vs plastic tampons debate, we’ll always suggest the cardboard applicator option FYI!
Once in, they provide long-lasting leak protection that doesn’t start to feel super uncomfortable toward the end of wear.
While we’re largely proponents of menstrual cups, these have become our go-to for busy, on-the-go days where tampons are just a little easier to manage.
They’re also 100% vegan, allergen/ alcohol/ paraben-free, designed in Sweden, made in Spain, and dermatologically and gynaecologically tested.
About DeoDoc
Sisterhood and mystery smells down there is what led to DeoDoc, the first intimate care brand founded and run by female doctors.
The brand is breaking taboos and empowering women with suppressed knowledge that they need about their bodies.
As women doctors whose research has led to the development of new pain relief for women in childbirth and anesthetic gel for pain during cervical or uterus interventions in the EU, it’s safe to say we love and trust this brand.
They also offer a membership with free shipping and special deals on their gynecologist-developed intimate health products.
2. August
August’s Eco-Friendly Tampons USA
Connect to your #InnerCycle with August, who provide some of the best eco-friendly tampons and pads that are also gender neutral.
Made with 100% organic cotton (withdrawal string too) sourced from suppliers in Turkey from farms in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan that’s peroxide bleached and manufactured in Germany.
Additionally, they’re hypoallergenic and free of toxins, harmful chemicals, pesticides, chlorine, herbicides, rayon, deodorants, dioxins, and dyes.
We’ve tried out each of their absorbencies and especially love the regular, which is perfect for our flow on even its heaviest days—though full disclosure, we tend to have a lighter flow, the super is still recommended for heavier flows.
The tampon opens axially, like angel wings, to best fit any shape for comfort and the BPA-free plastic applicators are slim and smoothe to operate. They’re also recyclable in some areas, but check with your local facilities first.
Tampons come in a biodegradable box of 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, or 96 as light, regular, or super size and wrapped in polyethylene.
About August
August has helped to revolutionize the crimson wave product scene with their sustainable pads and tampons for all that are best suited to a personalized August subscription box.
Choose the most useful products (organic pads and tampons) for your flow, select a nonprofit to donate 1% of your purchase to, and select a 2, 3, or 6-month subscription, to reduce shipping emissions.
August further commits to sustainability through 1% for the Planet membership, Climate Neutral certification, BSCI and ISO9001 certs, and a 100% Net Plastic Recycled certification via Plastic Collective.
To date, they’ve helped remove over 25,000 pounds of ocean plastic from waterways, donated over $50K to emergency relief, and given 120,000 period products away to date.
August also covers the tampon tax in all states that have it.
3. TOTM
TOTM’s Eco-Friendly Tampons UK
Period positive and totally sustainable, TOTM touts a bold and bright future for period care with tampons, pads, liners, and menstrual cups.
While their menstrual cups are the most kind to the environment (and your wallet) this brand also offers the next most sustainable option, which are non-applicator tampons.
Alternatively, they sell tampons with biodegradable applicators if the idea of inserting without one makes you cringe.
All tampons come as light, regular, super, or super plus and are made from super soft GOTS-certified 100% organic cotton with no fragrance, dyes, PFAS, artificial absorbents, or chlorine bleach.
About TOTM
Family-owned Certified B Corp TOTM is also Climate Neutral Certified, Vegan certified, PETA Cruelty Free, and Certified ICEA Eco Bio—showing they bloody care about period dignity while tackling plastic waste with plastic-free tampons.
TOTM proudly donates 1% of all online sales to Endometriosis UK.
They also help remove ocean plastics by collecting the equivalent weight of plastic from the ocean as cardboard applicator tampons they sell.
In addition, their gift-a-pad program is designed to provide a steady flow of pads to In Kind Direct for those in need, with over 100,000 pads donated to date.
4. Viv
Viv’s Eco-Friendly Tampons Canada
Let your V feel vivacious on the rag with Viv.
Viv tampons are entirely toxin-free, and made of 100% organic cotton that cuts out the harmful chemicals and uncomfortable plastic, providing a safe, healthy, and more earth-friendly period.
Tampons available as regular, super, or a combo of both in a box of 18, all featuring ultra-smooth BPA-free applicators if you’re in need of eco-friendly tampons with applicators.
About Viv
Three “eco conscious menstruators” founded Viv, concerned about the negative impact conventional period care has on our bodies and the planet.
After all, each typical drug store pad takes about 800 years to break down, which is a startling truth that sprung the Viv founders into action.
The brand offers subscriptions and rewards for members.
5. Cora
Cora’s Eco Tampons
The organic period underwear from Cora helps us free flow, and they’ve got some of the most comfortable tampons on the menstrual market, too.
Their tampon is both ICEA and GOTS-certified 100% organic cotton “inside and out,” and free from pesticides, dioxins, fragrances, and chlorine bleach.
While we urge you to choose applicator-free, Cora stocks both plant-based applicator and applicator-free options in a range of absorbency levels for their sustainable tampons, from light to super absorbent.
They’ve recently redesigned tampons for smoother insertion and removal and they’re also replacing their plastic wrappers with paper ones.
About Cora
“Easy peazy, bloody breezy” is how Cora describes their period products that are kind to both Mother Earth and menstruators.
Since community is the cor(a) of their values, Cora provides period products and body literacy resources to people in need throughout India, Kenya, and the USA with every purchase.
10% of profits go toward ending period poverty, and 75% of domestic giving is donated to BIPOC communities most needing period care.
6. DAME
DAME’s Environmentally Friendly Tampons
Reusable tampons?
Maybe not, unless we’re talking about menstrual cups and discs.
But a reusable tampon applicator?
DAME sells the first of its kind and it’s a total game changer.
And with 1.3 billion plastic applicators annually thrown away after a single use in the UK, it’s no wonder Aunt Flo loves this reusable solution as much as Mother Earth.
DAME’s green tampons are likewise people and planet friendly, with zero plastic, pesticides, plastic, bleach, absorbents, coloring, and harsh chemicals. Even their wrappers are biodegradable cellulose. Oh, and did we mention they’re 100% GOTS certified organic cotton?
If you’re in need of tampons for sensitive skin, these come recommended to prevent vaginal and vulva irritation, plus customers report lighter, shorter, or less painful periods, and less painful periods.
About DAME
You’ll feel like a dame that time of the month thanks to Certified B Corp DAME’s sustainable approach to menstrual cups, period underwear, and disposables.
“From field to fanny,” DAME carefully traces their impact, supply chain, and carbon footprint, making all info highly visible and available online for transparency.
They’re also Vegan certified and practice carbon insetting.
To give back, they founded the #DAMEchangers youth empowerment program, plus they donate loads of products to end period poverty.
7. Rael
Rael’s Biodegradable Tampons
Are tampons biodegradable?
Organic cotton ones sure are, and Rael keeps it real with their sustainable, compostable tampons with biodegradable applicators.
They sell a version with a BPA-free plastic applicator (if you must), and both come wrapped in a sustainable paper wrapper.
All Rael tampons are 100% certified organic cotton and designed to expand widthwise for the best absorption up to eight hours, with special leak-locking technology.
Tampons also all come packaged in a compostable box.
About Rael
Rael calls it “holistic cycle care,” and we call it the girl flu’s best medicine: healthy, clean, and comfortable period care that spreads the magic of menstrual dignity.
Because Rael is made for real people, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, or income.
The brand’s mission is to make effective menstrual products that bridge the gap between period poverty and menstrual dignity.
Through a partnership with I Support the Girls, they help collect bras, underwear, and menstrual hygiene products to deliver them to people experiencing homelessness, impoverishment, and distress.
8. Tampon Tribe
Tampon Tribe’s Biodegradable Pads and Tampons
With a string of eco-friendly pads and tampons that feature a biodegradable tampon applicator, for some seriously plastic-free period care then join the Tampon Tribe.
All of Tampon Tribe’s products are FDA-approved products and made from GOTS-certified organic cotton that follows the European ICEA standard, meaning zero viscose, chlorine, fragrances, dioxins, PFAS, or glue in their tampon’s hypoallergenic and vegan blend.
Available in three sizes—regular, super, or super plus—all of their sustainable tampons feature a special weave designed to prevent fiber shedding.
With their cute jute carrying bag, paper wrapping, and biodegradable cardboard applicator, these tampons make a welcome addition to any zero waste bathroom.
About Tampon Tribe
Tampon Tribe is a community-minded company, and to show their support their Give One Get One program donates feminine hygiene products to women experiencing homelessness.
With organic production processes carefully monitored and manufacturing done in the European countryside using water power and solar power, they’re also mindful of shopping emissions and choose to ship via container over air.
This woman and LGBTQ-owned business also supports fair labor practices and is plastic-negative—in other words, since they use zero plastic, they collect a pound of ocean plastic for every pound saved by not using it.
If you join the tribe, you’ll be gifted with free shipping and tribe rewards.
9. Daye
Daye’s Sustainable Tampons
Period cramping your style?
You’re covered day(e) and night with Daye’s next-level tampons that are made from sustainably sourced organic cotton with a protective shed-free sleeve and optional CBD coating.
You heard that right, with rigorous science behind them, Daye’s pharmaceutical grade cannabinoid-coated tampons are created from closed-loop hemp that harnesses the powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that studies indicate CBD oils contain. Goodbye cramps!
You can choose their Nude tampons (no CBD), CBD tampons, a combo offering, or even a personalized tampon box.
Their organic cotton sustainable tampons are housed in renewable sugarcane applicators and each wrapped in the world’s only flushable wrappers—and even then, if you have the option to compost industrially, that’s the better choice.
For extra pizzazz and reusability, they also come with a stylish aluminum reusable tampon case and organic cotton storage pouch.
About Daye
Certified B Corp and Carbon-Neutral company Daye commits to healing our planet and our bodies through sustainable holistic approaches to health.
They also partner with Pachama to offset their carbon footprint and combat deforestation.
And as Student Beans partners, they provide a 20% discount to college students, which allows menstruating students to have more money for stuff like tuition and school supplies.
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How We Choose The Most Eco-Friendly Tampons
We don’t take choosing eco-friendly light tampons lightly.
When something is hugging our most intimate parts, we demand the best. Here are some of the factors we consider in selecting safe and sustainable tampon brands.
Materials:
Again, we always support reusable alternatives first, like silicone menstrual cups and discs and sustainable period underwear.
But if your life demands something disposable, organic tampons are the best tampons.
By that, we mean 100% certified organic cotton. Organic and rayon or viscose don’t exist in the same world, so we are looking for synthetic-free products.
- Certifications: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Italian Association for Organic Agriculture (ICEA), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Packaging:
Tampons sure demand a lot of packaging or such a tiny object. This includes applicators, wrappers, and containers.
Cardboard, biodegradable, and applicator-free options are best, even if they’re not as comfy to use.
We want plastic-free packaging that encases the tampon, too, and if there’s a plastic applicator involved, it’s gotta be BPA-free.
Supply chain & green practices:
Cotton harvesting has a notoriously bad rep when it comes to human ethics and ethical sourcing, so we always look for humanely harvested organic cotton when we’re “on the cotton pony.”
These sustainable tampon brands support above-living wages, fair-trade certified factories, and safe working environments.
We also appreciate those companies that use renewable energy, waste reduction practices, recycled packaging, and carbon offsets.
- Certifications: B Corporation (B Corp), Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), ISO 9001, fair trade
Community & charitable giving:
All of these brands bloody care a lot about period education and accessibility, and use profits to donate menstrual care products and money to those in need to end period poverty.
Final Thoughts On Natural & Biodegradable Tampons
Tampons aren’t our go-to for period care.
When it comes to safety and sustainability, menstrual cups and organic period underwear are our favorite eco-friendly period products.
But we also respect personal choice and comfort level, which is crucial when Aunt Flo comes for her monthly visit.
So, if cotton rockets are a sure thing in your menstrual care kit, any one of the brands listed here will maximize safety and ease while minimizing impact.
Please, help your moon sisters soak in the information about their monthly time, and pass along this article about green tampons for an eco-friendly Red Alert.
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