Natracare
Quick verdict: Natracare has been making organic, plastic-free period products since 1989, which is longer than most of its competitors have existed. The certification stack is the deepest in this category, the price is drugstore-normal, and in March 2026 the founder gave the company to its employees instead of selling it. Our rating: 4.7 out of 5.
Who they are
Susie Hewson was 40 when she watched a television documentary about dioxin pollution from chlorine bleaching and decided to do something about it. She founded Natracare in Bristol in 1989 and made the world’s first certified organic cotton tampon. The company now sells in 80 countries.
On ownership, and this is the part worth reading. In March 2026, after 37 years, Hewson transferred Bodywise (UK) Ltd to an Employee Ownership Trust rather than accept any of the acquisition offers that come to a brand like this. The people who built it own it. Under our rubric that sits at the top of the ownership scale alongside a foundation or purpose trust, because an employee trust is structurally harder to sell than founder ownership is.
What they get right
The certifications actually cover the product and the company. The cotton is GOTS certified organic through Control Union, with Soil Association and ICEA certification alongside it, and the pads and liners hold the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. The parent company is a certified B Corp with a score of 115.1, which is more than double the median for an ordinary business. That combination, product certified and operations certified, is what a 1.0 on our certification criterion looks like.
Plastic-free means plastic-free. No plastic backing, no plastic wrapper, no rayon, no chlorine bleaching, no fragrance. The pads and liners are certified compostable, which almost nothing else in the aisle can say. Most “organic” period brands are organic cotton wrapped in polyethylene.
It costs what the conventional stuff costs. Roughly $5 to $12. Buying better here doesn’t require a premium, which is unusual enough in this directory to be worth saying plainly.
Where they fall short
The pads feel different, and some people don’t like it. A plant-based backing doesn’t have the slick plastic-backed feel people are used to, and the adhesive is less aggressive. It takes a cycle to adjust. That’s the honest tradeoff and it’s the only significant one.
Availability is patchier than the drugstore brands. Health food shops and online, mostly, rather than every supermarket aisle. Cora is easier to find in a hurry.
What they sell and what it costs
Tampons with and without applicators, pads, panty liners, maternity pads, wipes and incontinence products. Most items run $5 to $12.
Who it’s actually for
Anyone who wants organic period care without paying a premium for it, and anyone who cares that the packaging composts rather than sitting in landfill for four hundred years. If you want a reusable instead, Saalt is the pick in our roundup.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate program on our side, so nothing here earns us anything.
Related reading
- The Best Organic Tampons and Period Products, Vetted
- What’s Actually in Period Products
- Dioxin in Tampons: What the Science Says
Frequently asked questions
Is Natracare actually plastic-free?
Yes, and it’s one of very few brands where that holds all the way through. No plastic backing on the pads, no plastic in the wrappers, no rayon in the tampons. The pads and liners are certified compostable, and the cotton is GOTS certified organic.
Who owns Natracare?
Its employees. Founder Susie Hewson transferred the parent company, Bodywise (UK) Ltd, to an Employee Ownership Trust in March 2026 after 37 years running it, having turned down offers to sell. She founded the brand in 1989.
Is Natracare a B Corp?
The parent company Bodywise (UK) Ltd is, with a B Impact score of 115.1 against a median of 50.9 for ordinary businesses. Certification sits with the parent rather than the brand name, which is normal and worth knowing if you go looking for “Natracare” in B Lab’s directory and can’t find it.
Why do Natracare pads feel different?
Because the backing is plant-based rather than plastic film. It breathes more and it composts, and it also feels less slick than a conventional pad and holds on a little less firmly. Most people stop noticing after a cycle, but it’s a real difference rather than a marketing one.