Korean firm launches plant-based period pads in US

A South Korean femtech firm has launched plant-based period pads in the US, replacing synthetic superabsorbent polymers used in most pads with a plant-derived alternative.

Most period pads, including those marketed as organic, use synthetic superabsorbent polymers, or SAPs.

These plastic-based materials sit in the pad’s core and absorb menstrual fluid.

Inertia says its Prism Pads instead use LABOCELL, a patented cellulose-based absorbent matrix derived from plants.

The company says the material manages menstrual flow while remaining lightweight and breathable.

Co-founder and chief executive Hyoyi Kim said: “In a category that has relied on the same internal materials for decades, we believed innovation had to begin at the core.”

The startup was founded by female scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

It says many pads sold as organic use organic cotton only on the surface layer but still rely on synthetic SAPs in the absorbent core, the part of the pad that does the actual absorbing.

Each Prism Pad combines an OCS-certified organic cotton topsheet, the bio-based LABOCELL core and a sugarcane-derived backsheet.

The company says the pads contain no plastic-based SAPs, chlorine, fragrance or dyes.

The product carries USDA Certified Biobased Product status with 82 per cent biobased content and Dermatest five-star certification for skin compatibility.

Inertia says it has sold more than 10m pads in South Korea since launch and claims the number one feminine care product ranking at Olive Young, the country’s largest health and beauty retailer.

The US launch marks the company’s first international market entry.