There is no doubt that sanitory towels are plastic heavy. Yes you knew they came packed in plastic but did you know they were made of plastic? About 90% of the materials used to make sanitary pads and liners are plastic and include polyethylene, polypropylene and polyacrylate super absorbents. You can read more here
On the other hand reusable, washable sanitary towels might sound icky. Wait! For a great write up (actually a series of great write-ups) on a range of towels read Lucy Stableford-Grieve over at the the wonderful Pie Patch blog. The info is under Muff Fluff – love it.
Now as she helpfully pointed out (and I completely forgot to mention), “not all cloth pads are plastic free. You’d have to go for all natural fabrics.
A crucial part in the construction of cloth pads is a moisture resistant backing material to avoid bleeding straight through it. The vast majority of cloth pads use synthetic fleece or waterproof PUL for this. There are a few makers who offer wool interlock as a backing option (Mama Kloth or Honour Your Flow are two, I believe).
Then there are the top & core fabrics. Plush/minky is a popular top fabric because of its wicking properties but it is entirely synthetic. I have cotton, cotton jersey, bamboo velour, & cotton velour in my stash. You’d have to go for organic cotton to be sure of avoiding plastic entirely.
BUT overall I am happy to compromise on this because eliminating disposables in itself makes such a huge difference to my household waste. And cloth pads can last many, many years before they come to the end of their life. But if you want to be truly plastic-free it’s worth considering.”
Buy 
I have never used these pads (being more than happy with my Mooncup), so cannot give a personal recommendations. Though I know people who rave about them. Sadly no one who can be bothered writing me a guest post. And yes I will try guilt tripping. In the mean time if anyone else out there feels fancy guest posting?
I can send you back to Piepatch and Lucy Stableford-Grieve who seems to have spent her life in the saddle and reiewed almost every pad available! You may want to read her reviews before committing to buy.
Here is and example of a ready made pad made in England with a review by Eco Fluffy Mama
Make
Or the ubergreen who are handy with the needle canmake their own. You can find a pattern for home made sanitary towels with lots of useful info here and there are lots more on Pinterest
More
You can find more plastic free sanitary products here including the internal menstrual cup and some plastic free tampons.