For a long time, choosing an Eco Femme pad meant choosing between two looks:
- The soft, earthy tones of our Natural range or,
- The bright prints of our Vibrant range.
Colour can seem like a small detail when we talk about menstrual products, but anyone who has switched to cloth pads knows they become part of everyday life. You wash them, fold them, dry them and store them each cycle. So, how they look and feel matters more than you might expect. This year, in 2026, we added a third option: our new range of black cloth pads.
How our black cloth pads range began
The Black range did not start in a design meeting. It started with a request from one of our international retailers, who asked whether we could make a black pantyliner in the same style as our existing pads, with black fabric in place of the patterned outer layer. We agreed to make a small batch for her, and while we were working on it, we asked some of our other retailers whether black pads would interest them too.
The response surprised us! Several retailers said they would happily add black pads to their Eco Femme collections. And, some already have dedicated sections for black products on their websites. Meanwhile, the black pantyliners we had made were finding their way to customers steadily. We had been thinking about a third colour option for some time, but we never wanted to add one simply for the sake of having more choice. When the interest came naturally, from the people who sell our pads and the people who use them, it felt like the right moment to develop a complete range.
Why black reusable pads?
Black is already a familiar colour in reusable menstrual care. Many people who use period underwear are used to wearing black. And, some simply prefer it because it feels simple and easy to live with. Retailers have noticed this preference across many of the products they stock, and several felt it was missing from their cloth pad shelves.
It’s also worth remembering that most of us grew up with white menstrual products, and this shaped how we think a “clean” pad should look. The truth is that colour has nothing to do with hygiene. A cloth pad is hygienic because it is washed well, dried well and stored in a dry and clean place, whether it is white, patterned or black.
Black pads and stains
We have always said that a pad is meant to be stained, and we still mean it. Blood is a normal part of a period, and a stain on a cloth pad is simply a sign that the pad has done its job. The Black range is not meant to hide anything or suggest that stains are something to be embarrassed about. If a darker colour makes you feel more comfortable while you get used to cloth, that is a perfectly good reason to choose it. And if you love the brightness of our Vibrant range or the Natural range with a white cloth, that is just as good a reason to stay with them. What matters is that you have a choice that feels right for your body and your routine.
What stays the same: organic cotton, same absorbency
Apart from the colour, our black cloth pads are made in the same way as the rest of our collection. They use the same GOTS-certified organic cotton and the same absorbency (up to 8 layers). The only difference is the outer flannel layer, which is dyed black using colours that meet organic textile standards. The inner absorbent layers remain undyed and unbleached, just like our other pads.
Pads available in the Black Range
The black pad range covers almost everything in our Natural and Vibrant collections, including pantyliners (with or without a leakproof PUL layer), day pads, day pad plus, night pads, the Super Comfy, our flow kits, the Starter Kit, the Full Cycle Kit and the First Period Kit. The only pads not available in black are the foldable pad and Make Your Own kit.
How to care for black cloth pads
There is no special routine for black pads. As for any of our pads, soak them in cold water for a few minutes. Then, wash them by hand with our cloth pad soaps , or machine wash at 40°C or below. Then dry them as you would any other cloth pad, in sunlight or in shade. Like any dyed fabric, the black may soften or change slightly in shade after many washes. This is a natural part of the fabric aging. But it does not affect how well the pad works. With good care, our pads last around 75 to 100 washes, or three to five years, depending on how often you use them.
Tell us what you think
If you’ve been curious about cloth pads but the look held you back, or if you’ve been using cloth for years and fancy a change, we’d love to hear from you!
Which colour do you reach for, and why?
Does the colour of your pads make any difference to how you feel about your period?
Share your thoughts in the comments, by email at info@ecofemme.org, or DM us on Instagram.
Our Black range exists largely because people took the time to tell us what they wanted, and we want to keep hearing from you.
Whichever colour you choose, every pad you buy supports our Pad for Pad programme, which provides free menstrual health education and cloth pads to girls from low-income backgrounds in India.
