Why (and How) to Avoid Phthalates in Incontinence Pads — Attn:Grace

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[Home](/content/ "Home"/index.html) > [The Edit](/content/blogs/the-edit ""/index.html) >Why (and How) to Avoid Phthalates in Incontinence Pads

As far as personal care goes, many of us are mindful about what we put on our skin. That’s great! But at Attn: Grace, we’re just as focused on what goes up against some of our most sensitive and permeable body parts. For people who use incontinence pads daily, this isn't just a matter of comfort or convenience. It’s a health issue. And one of the biggest concerns on our radar? Phthalates: an endocrine-disrupting class of chemicals that’s unfortunately very prevalent in absorbent menstrual and incontinence products.

What Are Phthalates?

Phthalates (pronounced thal-ates) are a group of synthetic chemicals commonly used to make plastics flexible and to help fragrances last in personal care products. They’re found in everything from shampoo to vinyl flooring to food packaging, and yes, in plenty of menstrual and incontinence products.

It seems like it must be a miracle chemical to be able to have so many applications, but there are some serious concerns to keep in mind. The big one: Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors. That means they can interfere with the body’s hormonal systems, potentially leading to a range of health concerns, including reproductive issues, developmental problems, and metabolic disorders. Numerous studies support the concerns about long-term exposure risks.

And the more often you're exposed to them, especially through highly absorbent tissue like the genital skin, the more amplified those risks become.

Why Vaginal and Vulvar Tissue Requires Extra Care

The tissues of the vulva and vagina including the skin are super permeable, far more so than the exposed skin on your arms or legs. This tissue is thinner, more delicate, and more susceptible to friction, and it also lacks the kind of robust barrier that other parts of the body have to keep chemicals out. These tissues are also quite vascular (meaning they have a lot of blood vessels). These qualities mean that substances that come into prolonged contact with this area are more readily absorbed into the bloodstream than substances exposed to other types of skin.

How Do Phthalates End Up in Incontinence Pads?

Universally, incontinence pads are made up of several layers and different materials and components. Often, they’re packaged in even more materials, from the external package to the individual pad wrapper. So, if a brand isn’t intentionally avoiding phthalates in every component like we do at Attn: Grace, there could be many opportunities for these chemicals to enter the equation.

Fragrance or odor-masking materials: This is one of the most common sources. Suppose a product is scented but does not disclose the specific ingredients used to make that fragrance. In that case, there’s a reasonable chance the fragrance contains phthalates— and specifically diethyl phthalate (DEP), which is used to make fragrance last longer and extend the shelf-life of products. With Attn: Grace, you can rest assured we’ll never use synthetic fragrance in our products, which are designed to naturally combat odor thanks to their high-quality construction, the materials we use, which counter the high pH value of the ammonia found in urine, and how quickly and securely our products lock in leaks.
Plastic films and adhesives: This is a classic problem area for phthalates because they are often used as plasticizers to make materials more flexible. The waterproof backing layer or adhesive components on an incontinence or menstrual pad, for instance, could very well include phthalates if the manufacturer is not actively ensuring these chemicals are not present in their supply chain. At Attn: Grace, we work closely with our factories to ensure all of our product components are phthalate-free.
Colored materials or printing: Synthetic dyes and inks also sometimes contain phthalate-based compounds unless specific measures are taken to ensure they are not used in a formulation. Attn: Grace pads are colorless and made without dyes. We don’t need them, and if you’re concerned about phthalates, you don’t want them either.

To put it bluntly, if a brand isn’t clearly stating that they do not use phthalates, chances are good that they might.

How Can You Tell If Your Incontinence Pad Contains Phthalates?

Here’s the tricky part: you usually can’t, at least not from the label alone. Phthalates are rarely, if ever, listed outright on an ingredient label. However, if a brand you’re considering includes a generic reference to “fragrance” on its ingredient list, and doesn’t otherwise indicate how the fragrance they’re using is derived, it likely contains a much longer list of chemical components that companies in the U.S. are not required to disclose.

So it’s largely up to us as individual consumers to make sure we’re doing what we can to limit our exposure to phthalates. In the more specific context of shopping for incontinence or menstrual products, here are tips we recommend considering:

Look for brands that explicitly state “phthalate-free”. Ahem, like Attn: Grace. This is your best bet. If a brand doesn’t make this claim, you can reach out and ask them directly.
Avoid scented products. Unless a product uses 100% natural essential oils or naturally derived fragrance ingredients, choose fragrance-free to avoid one of the most prevalent sources of undisclosed phthalates in consumer products today.
Prioritize transparency. Brands that go beyond the bare minimum and share their full ingredient list (including fragrance components) are signaling that they don’t have anything to hide. You can also look for indications that a brand has conducted third-party safety testing or certification to back up their claims.

Phthalates Are Widespread, So What Can We Do?

The reality is that phthalates are widely used in a vast number of products and applications, and some exposures are going to be beyond our control. Deep breath.

While we may not be able to eliminate phthalate exposure, we can reduce it significantly by being intentional about the choices we make, especially concerning the following kinds of products:

Those that commonly include components or ingredients known to frequently include phthalates (including plastics, adhesives, and fragrances)
Those that you use frequently or daily
Those that come into contact with your skin, particularly for extended periods of time, and when highly permeable tissue (including vulvar or vaginal tissue) is exposed

The Bottom Line

If you use incontinence pads regularly, you deserve peace of mind that they’re not quietly compromising your health. While phthalates are a hidden hazard in many personal care items, the risks are amplified when it comes to products worn close to the vulva and vagina. So, choose options that work for you today while looking out for the future of your health.

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