The results showed that five of the products had a percentage of renewable raw materials over 60 percent, thereby qualifying for the Testfakta Bio-Based certification. The highest ranked product was Natracare with 88% renewable raw material, while Always Ultra Day ranked lowest with 29%.
Nearly 700 million used menstrual products are discarded in Sweden every year. Pads are usually made from plant-based cotton and cellulose pulp, as well as various types of plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyester, which are derived from fossil raw materials. The more renewable materials a pad contains, the less it wears on the environment.
– The test method provides reliable guidance by verifying the proportion of renewable raw materials in the material. This strengthens credibility in the market and among today's consumers, who are placing increasing demands on sustainable products," says Mathias Berglund, research and development engineer at RISE and the person who conducted the testing of the pads.
It is encouraging to see that so many manufacturers are including more renewable materials in their pads, without compromising performance or quality. The overall winner of the test, Libresse Pure Sensitive, also contained a 62 percent renewable materials.