Researched by Kim Rosas | May 2025
This is one example of a natural sea sponge sold in a cardboard disc container -remarkably good shape. This product is likely from the 1930s. Sponges were sold as contraceptive but it was an open secret that women could use them for period flow as well. The sponge is housed inside of a soft netting to prevent it from breaking apart, and the netting has a string for retrieval.
Later, in the 1970s, sponges would be packaged and sold as period care during a time when women were looking to eshew conventional period care products and capitalism. Sponges are reusable and a renewable natural resource, so they were an appealing option in contrast to tampons. In 1980 the FDA banned the sale of natural sea sponges as a period care device after a study concluded they were a high risk for Toxic Shock Syndrome.
- Timeframe: 1920s – 1930s
- Item Location: On Display Period Nirvana Asheville
- Credit: Kim Rosas
- Category: Sponge/Contraceptive/Other
Find more examples of sanitary sponges in the Smithsonian’s online archive.
