23rd April 2026
Full statement on the government consultation on product safety from Wen:
Wen welcomes the government consultation on the UK’s product safety framework including period products.
This is an important step forward. It reflects years of campaigning by Wen, our partners and parliamentarians and more than 80,000 people who signed our petition calling for the government to make period products safe.
But inclusion in a consultation is not the same as action and voluntary standards are not the same as regulation. We are not convinced this legislative framework will deliver the regulations required to make period products safe to use.
For more than three decades, Wen has campaigned for safe, affordable and sustainable period products. We have raised concerns that products used internally and externally, often for many years, are not subject to the product-specific safeguards we reasonably expect.
This is not simply a matter of product safety. It is a women’s and female health issue. Repeated exposure to harmful chemicals in products used month after month, often over decades, raises legitimate concerns about hormonal disruption, and the impact on fertility, reproductive health and long-term gynaecological outcomes. Products used so intimately and so routinely should meet the highest standards of protection and public health scrutiny.
Our response to the government’s evidence review
We are particularly concerned by the consultation’s summary of the government’s literature review conducted by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), which appears to conclude that the current voluntary codes for keeping harmful chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals out of period products work.
Our experience and the evidence suggests otherwise. Independent testing and investigations have repeatedly identified harmful substances and contaminants in period products, including toxic chemicals, heavy metals and PFAS or ‘Forever Chemicals’. Some at levels not permitted in other consumer products like cosmetics. Period products are used monthly over decades and in one of the most absorbent parts of the human body, with vaginal exposure thought to be 10-80 percent higher than through the skin on the rest of the body. Research has identified period products as being a considerable and much overlooked source of exposure to harmful chemicals. Our own research on glyphosate in tampons found levels forty times higher than the legal limit permitted in drinking water, far above the “consistently low” levels referred to in the literature review synopsis.
That is why we have asked for the OPSS literature review to be published.
Question 20 in the consultation asks: Are there any further actions you believe we should take beyond the existing and proposed requirements to ensure period products are safe? We will share our response, along with suggested wording for anyone concerned about the health of women, girls and those who menstruate who would like to respond to this part of the consultation.
Why voluntary standards are not enough
Voluntary codes from the period products industry cannot replace specific regulation.
Without legal requirements, there is no guarantee of independent testing, full ingredient disclosure or transparency about chemicals used in products. There is also no clear accountability when standards are not met, and no effective enforcement to make sure they are. Without regulation, it is impossible to ensure protection for everyone, including users of new and emerging products.
Even though an ISO standard for menstrual products is being developed with Wen involvement, this can only pave the way for proper regulation. If voluntary codes and standards worked, like the industry version in place since 1999, this would have ensured we didn’t continually find harmful substances, heavy metals and pesticides in period products.
We are seeking clarification on how standards will ensure sufficient rigour, independent testing and oversight, and ongoing accountability, given the potential risk considerations involved.
Why all period products must be included
Wen believes all period products should be covered by regulation, not just one specific product type. Many people do not have genuine choices because of affordability, accessibility or what works best for their bodies and daily lives.
Regulating just one type of period product, like tampons, won’t protect every woman, girl or person who menstruates from toxic substances in other period products. Nor will it stop innovation travelling faster than regulation and safety when it comes to period products.
The UK must not fall behind
Other countries and eight US states have already taken action to regulate period products and restrict harmful chemicals like PFAS or ‘Forever Chemicals’. The UK is at risk of falling behind. It can still show it values the health, dignity and wellbeing of the millions of women, girls and people who menstruate and rely on these products every day.
Wen’s call to government
We are urging the government to deliver meaningful reform, including:
- product-specific regulation for all period products
- mandatory safety testing and independent oversight
- clear disclosure of ingredients and contaminants
- restrictions on harmful chemicals where evidence of hazard exists
- a system that keeps pace with innovation and new products entering the market
- affordability, sustainability and equity at the heart of reform
Wen successfully led the call for a warning on tampon packets about Toxic Shock Syndrome in 1996, and we will continue to push for product-specific regulation until everyone can have confidence that period products are safe to use.
Next steps
Wen will be submitting a detailed consultation response and sharing information for the Wen-led Environmenstrual Coalition and supporters who want to respond too.
For more information on Wen’s Environmenstrual Coalition and the response to the consultation please contact helen@wen.org.uk.
For interviews contact Kate Beard at Wen on 07950585284 or kate.beard@wen.org.uk.
