Astonishing! Good news, everybody: Most of the tested products were convincing. But … taking a closer look at the material of some of the menstrual cups, improvements should be made.
In detail: Öko-Test, a german consumer magazine, has sent 15 tampon brands and six menstrual cups to be examined in a laboratory. Five of the cups are made of silicone, as it is usual for this group of products. One of them is made of the thermoplastic material TPE.
Laboratory examinations & practical tests
But not only ingredients have been scrutinized. Practical tests have been made as well. With only one exception all products got the assessment “excellent” or “good”. One menstrual cup came off as “inadequately”. The laboratory found benzophenone, which is used in printing ink and coatings, for instance. It helps to harden lacquers. According to the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) benzophenone is “possibly carcinogenic”. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) assumes, that repeated or long-term contacts can cause organ damages.
One product with organohalogen compounds
In contrast to former test results, there were hardly any complaints about the tampons. Only one brand contains organohalogen compounds, some of which are likely to cause allergies. The tampons convinced in the practical test. The amount of the absorption matched the description of the product. It didn’t fray out while removing and also the withdrawal cord passed the pull test easily.
By the way, the photo shows the testing of menstrual cups.
You like painting your nails? Then you should read our article about carcinogenic nitrosamines in nail polish. In August Öko-Test reported about it in detail.
