"Right now, the FDA actually doesn't require that feminine care brands list all of the ingredients in their products," explain Lola founders Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman. "So while most of us assume the products we're using are 100 percent cotton, they may contain synthetic fibers such as rayon and polyester." (The problem with synthetics like rayon is that they tend to be bleached and sometimes contain a carcinogen known as dioxin.)
Now, a few new companies, Lola included, are stepping up to change the industry, creating feminine care products made with non-toxic materials like organic cotton that are better for you—and the environment.
These three new brands making it perfectly clear to women what they're putting in their bodies every 28 days.
The Honest CompanyJessica Alba's cleaner products empire has tackled bath and body, baby formula, diapers, cleaning products, and vitamins—so it makes sense that the next step was feminine care.
Tampons, pads, and pantyliners in the brand-new line are all made with 100 percent organic cotton, and are free of any fragrances, dyes, or chemical residues. Applicators (they also have applicator-free tampons, which Mother Earth will thank you for using!) are phthalate-free plastic made from 90 percent plant-based materials, and the strings are simply woven, not glued.
LolaFounders Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman originally just wanted to create a subscription tampon delivery service.
"However, as we researched the tampon market, we realized that the more pressing issue was lack of transparency about the ingredients that went into tampons," they explain. "Lola was born as a modern approach to feminine care and a way to change both the product and delivery of tampons."
The company offers recurring delivery that allows you to customize the number of boxes (with your ideal assortment of absorbencies that best match your flow) and how often a delivery arrives. Tampons are made with 100 percent hypoallergenic (not organic) cotton, with BPA-free applicators, and they plan to expand product offerings in the future.
CoraEntrepreneur Molly Hayward originally created Cora to empower women and girls who were missing out on educational and economic opportunities because they didn't have access to pads or tampons. "It’s estimated that 100 million girls around the world lack access to sanitary products that they need or want," she says.
Hayward thought she could help them by selling products to women who did have the means and using the profits for product donation, but another layer soon emerged. "I realized we are suffering in a very different way. Although we have access to products, the majority of those products are very bad for us and are very bad for the environment," she says.
Cora was originally a membership-based service that provided boxes of organic feminine care products monthly, but the company is about to relaunch with a slightly different model this fall, one aspect of which is its own line of all-organic-cotton tampons that provide pads for girls in India with every purchase. "Our goal is to be the best for women's bodies, lifestyles, and the world," she says.
~Thanks to Amy Marturana and Lisa Elaine Held
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