31 July 2026 — On the Advantages of an Active Absorption Menstrual Pad Made Only From Natural, Biodegradable Materials
On the Advantages of an Active Absorption Menstrual Pad Made Only From Natural, Biodegradable Materials
Isis Devisch-Lal
31 July 2026
All synthetic menstrual pads in the world pose serious health risks as a result of the plastics they contain, the chemicals they are treated with, and heavy metals and other toxins they are exposed to during production. With the products under classification as a medical device, companies are not required to list the ingredients in period products or follow regulations for health safety. Lead, arsenic, chloromethane, chlorine, and several types of volatile organic compounds and endocrine disrupting chemicals were found in all synthetic menstrual pads in varying quantities. The most prevalent and concerning of these is lead, as it is exceptionally harmful and stays in the body indefinitely once it is there. The presence of lead as well as primary other issues of toxicity can be mitigated by making menstrual pads (and tampons) out of 100% natural materials. Unfortunately, these safer products are often lower in effectiveness in terms of catching and holding onto blood. Therefore, based on: the harmless natural softness of cotton; the efficacy of chitosan in rapidly absorbing and containing blood from wounds; bamboo’s high absorbency capacity; bio-SAP that uniquely allows for the absorptivity of a synthetic pad without the toxins; bio-PLA that achieves the strength necessary to form a backing; the biodegradability of all of these materials—the following proposed menstrual pad is not only safer but also more quickly absorptive than any menstrual pad currently on the market. In terms of unique additions, the chitosan combined with Bio-SAP will play the largest role in creating the first fully-natural menstrual pad that is faster at absorbing, and more absorbing, than a synthetic menstrual pad.
The majority of menstrual pads on the market are made entirely from synthetic petroleum-derived materials. The process of petroleum extraction induces large byproducts of the forever chemical lead. There is no safe level of lead exposure. The level of lead in synthetic pads and tampons exceeds the maximum amount allowed in drinking water, and its presence of pads allows it to bypass large sections of the immune system that help to protect you when imbibing it through water:
The plausible presence of metals [...] is concerning not only given the known adverse effects of metals exposure on health (El Ati-Hellal and Hellal, 2021, Nordberg and Costa, 2021) but also the characteristics of the vaginal epithelium that allow for efficient chemical absorption into systemic circulation. The vagina has a highly permeable and vascularized mucosal membrane and contains rugae, or small folds, resulting in an increased surface area (Srikrishna and Cardozo, 2013, Hussain and Ahsan, 2005). This allows for efficient absorption; for example, vaginal administration of the medications propranolol and misoprostol results in greater bioavailability than oral or buccal administration (respectively) (Patel et al., 1983, Vorontsova et al., 2022). Vaginally absorbed chemicals do not undergo first-pass metabolism and detoxification via the liver and directly enter systemic circulation (Kim and De Jesus, 2022). Critical evidence for systemic exposure to toxins with tampon use is provided by the toxic shock syndrome outbreak of the early 1980s. In that epidemic, the Rely tampon (and other superabsorbent tampons that could be worn for extended durations) interacted with menstrual blood and vaginal microbiota over time to result in overgrowth of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and its toxin in the vagina (Vostral SL. Of Mice and (Wo)Men, 2020, Vostral, 2011). The toxin crossed the vaginal epithelium, entered systemic circulation, and produced a range of serious symptoms in individuals, including hypotensive shock and even death (Vostral SL. Of Mice and (Wo)Men, 2020, Centers for Disease Control aand Prevention, 1980).
Synthetic menstrual pads and tampons are one of the largest sources of toxic heavy metals entering the human body. Any level of usage presents health detriments. Given one person with a heavy period of nine days per month in which three pads per day are required, the total lifetime dose of lead exposed to would approximate a highly toxic 8.3 milligrams—over 8,300,000 times the level of lead that causes adverse effects. Even far less than this much lead exposure over the course of a lifetime leads to an increased risk of irregular menstrual cycles, miscarriage, premature birth, premature osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, nephropathy, chronic hypertension, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and motor ability decline (Parkinson’s). It also exacerbates abdominal pain. The continuous burning—to “dispose of the shame”—of these menstrual pads in India and other countries is a major source of lung damage. Creating a menstrual pad that is made entirely from natural, non-petroleum based materials negates the majority of lead poisoning risk posed by menstrual pads.
The polyethylene and polypropylene (plastics) that make up synthetic pads bring with them carcinogens from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as styrene or toluene. Even pads that are made mostly naturally with the exception of their backing fall prey to this issue, as the VOCs can spread from the plastic backing to the rest of the pad. Creating a menstrual pad that is made entirely from natural, non-petroleum based materials negates the majority of VOC exposure risk.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are also present in the synthetic menstrual pads; “the detection frequencies (DFs) of phthalates, bisphenols, and parabens in liners were 100%, 75%, and 75%, respectively, and 50%, 100%, and 85% in pads. Phthalates were more prevalent in liners, compared to bisphenols in pads.” Through this, through continuous, long-term and low-dose exposure, additional health risks accumulate due to high toxicity. The most widely observed consequences are reproductive toxicity and cancer.
The largest problem with natural pads on the market today is that their absorption is low. Compared to synthetic pads which use synthetic Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP), natural pads typically use wood pulp and bamboo. The usage of bio-SAP in this newly proposed product increases the efficacy of a natural menstrual pad to match that of a synthetic pad. In fact, the absorption speed of a natural pad coated in chitosan should not only match, but surpass that of a synthetic pad. This is because chitosan’s opposing charge to that of blood causes them to bind together into a membrane. This means that the blood does not simply fall onto the pad but is pulled into it by electrostatic forces. This helps blood enter the pad more quickly, which solves the problem of slow absorption that is highly prevalent in natural pads and present in synthetic pads. Additionally, since the chitosan and the blood actively stay together to form a solid, it is also more difficult for blood to leave the pad once it has been absorbed.
Each pad individually requires a five by ten inch rectangle of bioplastic as the backsheet; a three by ten inch rectangle of bio-SAP for the core; one gram of chitosan powder to be dissolved in one hundred milliliters of acetic acid (vinegar) coated on a three by ten inch rectangle of unbleached nonwoven spunlace bamboo to act as the absorbent distributive layer; and a three by ten inch rectangle of nonwoven spunlace cotton. Additionally, each pad requires rubber-based liquid glue to stick the bioplastic to tape, bio-based low tack tape to connect the bioplastic to undergarments, and unbleached parchment paper to act as an easily removable cover for the tape.
For a test run of fifty pads, the following has to be purchased:
15 square feet of Futamura’s Natureflex Compostable Films with Intermediate Moisture Permeability
12 square feet of Futamura’s NatureLace
12 square feet of bio-SAP (contact us!)
12 square feet of Weston Manufacturing’s undyed nonwoven spunlace bamboo
One package of 100g of chitosan powder
12 square feet of Weston Manufacturing’s undyed nonwoven spunlace cotton
1 roll of crepe paper masking tape
1 roll of all-natural unbleached parchment paper
100% rubber-based glue
These were all the materials necessary to test my hypothesis: that chitosan combined with Bio-SAP will create the first fully-natural menstrual pad that is faster at absorbing, and more absorbing, than a synthetic menstrual pad.