At TOTM, our mission is to inspire better, sustainable ways to manage periods. As part of this, we want to make plastic-free period care products accessible to everyone. We’re excited to share that we are extending our best-selling pad range.
Our new pads are made with 100% organic cotton and sustainably-sourced wood pulp, offering breathable comfort and softness at a budget-friendly price. To celebrate the launch, we’ll be adding 1000 new pads (100 boxes) to our In Kind Direct donation drop in Q2.
New pads alert 🚨
As a certified B Corp, we are committed to changing the period care industry for good. When it comes to launching new products, we always look to our customers to inspire the products we will launch next. With our pads being our best-selling range, in 2023 (a year that will be remembered for many things, one being the cost-of-living crisis) we set out to expand our range. Our goal was to offer a more budget-friendly product that is still eco-friendly and organic to support more customers in making a sustainable switch.
Developing a new pad option – No SAP zone 🙅♀️
To develop a pad to fit this brief, we explored a number of different materials, one of which was bamboo. We were disheartened to see that most of the bamboo pad options we reviewed contained superabsorbent polymers, or SAPs. SAPs are often used in conventional pads as they are a cheap and effective way to enhance absorbency. For us, however, SAPs do not align with our values – they are mostly produced from petrochemicals and can take up to 500 years to degrade. One thing was super important when developing this new pad, it had to align with our ethics as a purpose-led period care brand. We also explored other plant-derived materials, however none of these were the right fit.
Plus, we were determined to continue using organic cotton, as we love that it’s not only sustainable but is also super soft and naturally absorbent. And this is what led us on the path to developing our new pad option.
Introducing our new pad range – Keeping it organic & natural 😍
We worked with our manufacturers, the same team that we have worked with for over 8 years, to develop a new type of pad. Our new pad still uses certified organic cotton in the topsheet but instead features an absorbent core made with sustainably-sourced, renewable wood pulp. By using an alternative but still eco-friendly and natural material in the core, we’re able to offer a budget-friendly pad option (RRP £2.45). These pads care for your period naturally, offering effective protection without superabsorbent polymers.
It’s important to note that our new pads align with our core pad range as much as possible. Alongside using organic cotton and natural materials they are still:
- Free of fragrance, dyes, chlorine bleach (Totally Chlorine Free) and SAP.
- Compostable and have certified compostable wrappers.
- Carbon-neutral.
- Registered with The Vegan Society.
There are currently 2 absorbencies available in our new pads – medium and super – but we would love your feedback on whether you would like to see us add more absorbencies in the future.
Do these replace the existing TOTM pads?
Absolutely not! Like many of our customers across the UK, we love our core pad range. By introducing a new option, we’re just focusing on making sustainable products more widely accessible and if anything, it offers our customers more choice.
I didn’t think TOTM used wood pulp?
We didn’t before as our core pad range uses 100% organic cotton from core to cover. We highlight this on the packaging with the ‘I am Organic’ message and in the product descriptions. These new pads are an extension of our pad range as a budget-friendly option that still aligns with our ethical values. You also need to be careful as wood pulp (if sustainably-sourced) in it’s raw form is renewable, however many period care products chemically process this to create rayon or viscose – a process that is not environmentally-friendly. Furthermore, the rayon is often bleached which can also produce dioxins.
Our new pads do not contain rayon or viscose and we use woodpulp fluff that is sustainably-sourced, renewable, and totally chlorine free (TCF). The core is naturally absorbent which means we can offer an alternative to those containing superabsorbent polymers (SAPs). If you prefer our core pad range, then you can still find these online and stocked by other major retailers.
Where can I shop the new pads? 🛒
Exciting news, our new pads are available in 750+ Tesco stores nationwide, and online. We’ll be launching these on our own website very soon, and you can register your interest here.
What’s coming next?
This is where you come in! Keen to have your say on what products we are developing? Join our new Period Positive Panel, an exclusive community of TOTM customers who’ll get a say on our product development. Our panel will get a year’s supply of TOTM period care, plus extra rewards. They’ll get to share feedback on our current range, what we should develop next, and try new products before we bring them to market. Want to apply to join our panel? Learn more here.
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