Consumer advocacy group CHOICE is today releasing the results of its period underwear review, which put 10 types of the undies to the test. 

In an Australian first, CHOICE recruited 56 volunteers to trial period undies from Bonds, Modibodi, Thinx, Eco Period and Love Luna, with each pair being trialled a minimum of 30 times. 

CHOICE also tested the underwear in our laundry laboratory to find out what effect washing and drying would have on their condition over time.

Infographic available for embedding here: https://infogram.com/period-undies-choice-score-1hzj4o3xdked34p?live

"Period undies are becoming increasingly popular as people look for eco-friendly alternatives to pads and tampons, so we wanted to examine just how well different brands perform," says CHOICE consumer expert, Marianna Longmire. 

"There are so many different types and brands of period undies available these days. Our period underwear review will make it much easier for Australians to decide which undies are best for them." 

"Sometimes there's a reluctance to talk about periods but these products really matter to people who need them." 

"You deserve to have rigorous and independent testing on all the products you rely on, from washing powder to period undies. This new CHOICE review will help you find out what products will work best for a heavy flow day or which will be more comfortable. We hope that publishing and discussing our period underwear review will also help to reduce some of the stigma that still exists around periods," says Longmire. 

The 10 period undies that CHOICE looked at all generally performed well, but these were the top three: 

Modibodi Seamfree Full Brief

CHOICE Recommended

Price: $33

Absorbency: Moderate-heavy

CHOICE score: 80%

Performance: 82%

Overall comfort: 74%

Ease of use: 77%

"The Modibodi Seamfree Full Briefs, with a moderate to heavy absorbency, were worn by triallists during the day. These undies scored the highest for no leakage, with only one of 34 participants reporting a small leak," says Longmire. 

"These period briefs also rated highest for performance, ease of use, and ease of washing." 

Bonds Bloody Comfy Period Full Brief

CHOICE Recommended

Price: $29.99

CHOICE score: 76%

Absorbency: Heavy

Performance: 79%

Overall comfort: 73%

Ease of use: 75% 

"The Bonds Bloody Comfy Full Briefs, with a heavy absorbency, were worn overnight by our triallists. They were commended for their absorbency, and received the equal second highest no leakage score," says Longmire.

Modibodi Seamfree Full Brief 

CHOICE Recommended

Price: $35

CHOICE score: 76%

Absorbency: Heavy-overnight

Performance: 80%

Overall comfort: 66%

Ease of use: 76% 

"The people who trialled these Modibodi Seamfree Full Briefs wore them overnight, and really liked the security, absorbency and length of the gusset on the undies. Triallists commented that they provided a lot of protection, and had their full trust throughout the night. It's no surprise that these undies scored highest for absorbency and odour control," says Longmire. 

See our full period underwear review here: www.choice.com.au/periodundies

Images and videos available here: https://sites.google.com/choice.com.au/periodundies

Media contact: Katelyn Cameron, 0430 172 669, [email protected] 

Editor's notes: 

How we test: 

We recruited 56 CHOICE staff and supporters to each trial two or three different brands of period undies.

Each volunteer trialled two pairs for each brand – one for daytime (moderate absorbency or closest equivalent), and a different pair for overnight (heavy absorbency or closest equivalent). 

Triallists were asked to wash and dry each pair according to instructions found on the packaging/undies before wearing. 

Each brand was trialled on a moderate flow day during the triallists' cycle, with the day pair starting from when they got dressed for the day, changing into the overnight pair as they got ready for bed. On average, the undies were worn for 9.4 hours. 

The triallists also completed a post-trial survey form and were asked to rate each pair of underwear on a scale from terrible to excellent, which we converted to a score out of 100. Each pair of undies was trialled a minimum of 30 times in total.