Spotlight on OVO, a sustainable menstrual hygiene company
By AMBER WARNKE — features@theaggie.org
Environmental sustainability is a frequently discussed topic, leading many people to look into more eco-friendly swaps for the products they buy. This is especially true for feminine hygiene products, which often contain environmentally toxic “forever chemicals” that can take 500 to 800 years to decompose.
Facing this problem head-on, two UC Davis friends and alumni teamed up with OVO, a sustainable menstrual product company, to help protect the planet while also prioritizing women’s health and supporting programs that supply underserved communities with menstrual products.
Morgan Babauta, a 2025 UC Davis alumna with a Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.) degree in managerial economics, explained that OVO’s mission helps cut down on the waste produced by the menstrual care industry while also protecting the planet’s resources.
“OVO is a plant-based, plastic free, industrially compostable menstrual hygiene brand that is better for you and for the planet,” Babauta said. “OVO even plants a real tree with every customer’s first online order […] You can name your tree, follow its growth and see how much carbon your tree has sequestered to date. You can even write to the farmer who planted your tree.”
Rather than utilizing cotton, which uses large amounts of water to grow, OVO’s pads feature bamboo, which regrows quickly, requires less pesticides and water and produces 35% more oxygen than the same amount of trees. OVO’s products are also made with cornstarch bioplastic instead of plastic wrappers, and come in recycled cardboard boxes. For Babauta, these factors make OVO a company she believes can help women feel secure about helping the planet while staying informed about their menstrual products.
“A lot of people don’t realize what’s really in the products they use,” Babauta said. For example, most of the period products out there are misleadingly labeled as organic, natural and good for you, but they still contain plastics. I bet most people who took a look at the ingredients in their period products right now would see ingredients such as super absorbent polymers (SAPs) or polyethylene. Most SAPs are derived from crude oil and polyethylene is the most commonly produced plastic in the world. I think it’s important to produce a product that doesn’t contain these unsustainable ingredients.”
Aishwarya Santosh, a 2025 UC Davis alumna with a B.S. degree in marine and coastal science, is another OVO employee. Santosh noted that the chemicals in many popular menstrual products can cause negative health effects in women.
“Many products, especially period products, have all sorts of labels thrown on them to make them seem like they’re good for you or the planet, but so many people don’t know what these labels actually mean,” Santosh said. “We always say that people take the time to dissect the ingredient labels on food packaging when they go grocery shopping, but they don’t do it for the products they put between their legs.”
Chemicals present in many menstrual products can be especially harmful, as vaginal tissue is highly permeable; absorbing chemicals in pads and tampons have been proven to act as endocrine disruptors, often leaving noticeable impacts on women’s health.
Amelie Chang, a fourth-year biological sciences major and the sustainable menstruation chair for the Davis Period club, explained that part of the reason why toxic chemicals in menstrual products continue to persist is due to society’s undervaluing of women’s health.
“Female health is kind of stigmatized and not talked about as much, but a lot of commercial, disposable tampon and pad brands like Tampax or Always [have] been found to have toxic chemicals in them,” Chang said.
Babauta and Santosh’s contributions to OVO prove that students can apply their goals and aspirations while at UC Davis to their post-graduate lives as well — something many students may be thinking about as spring quarter fast approaches.
“It’s amazing to see how just two people with a vision can bring something so impactful to fruition,” Santosh said. As students navigate the countless decisions that come with this stage of life — whether that be their career plans or even something as simple as what brand of pads they buy — Santosh and Babauta remind students that they can live out their values in every part of their lives.
“We both have always been passionate about contributing positively to the environment and being part of something bigger that will have a lasting impact,” Santosh said.
Written by: Amber Warnke — features@theaggie.org
