The LOLA tampons lawsuit was a 2021 proposed class action alleging that the brand’s 100% organic cotton tampons unraveled and shed cotton fragments inside users’ bodies during removal, creating risks of infection and injury. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case in February 2022, before the court ruled on class certification or the merits, and no settlement or recall followed.
What the Lawsuit Alleged
Kimberley Manson filed the case on June 30, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against ALYK Inc., LOLA’s parent company at the time (Case No. 7:21-cv-05688).1Top Class Actions. These Organic Tampons Can Unravel Inside Your Body, a Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Her attorneys were Yitzchak Kopel and Alec M. Leslie of Bursor & Fisher PA.2Law360. Consumers Claim Organic Tampons Unravel During Use
The complaint’s central claim was that LOLA tampons lacked the protective outer coating found on many competing products. Without that coating, the tampons could disintegrate, unravel, or shed cotton pieces inside the body when pulled out. The suit alleged this created risks of vaginal infection, irritation, and physical injury, and said some consumers had needed medical help to remove retained fragments.3CMTAS. Consumers Claim Organic Tampons Unravel During Use
Manson sought to represent a nationwide class of LOLA purchasers along with a New York subclass. The complaint brought claims under the New York General Business Law and alleged breach of warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment, and negligent misrepresentation. It asked for compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages and called on ALYK to issue a recall, describing the defect as “an unacceptable safety hazard.”1Top Class Actions. These Organic Tampons Can Unravel Inside Your Body, a Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
The Consumer Accounts Behind the Case
Manson said she bought a LOLA tampon at Walmart in February 2021. According to the complaint, it disintegrated during removal, left cotton pieces inside her, and caused burning and localized discomfort. She stopped using the brand.1Top Class Actions. These Organic Tampons Can Unravel Inside Your Body, a Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
To show the problem went beyond one buyer, the complaint pointed to roughly 30 reviews on LOLA’s own website, with some reviewers reportedly describing needing medical help to remove tampon fragments. Similar accounts have continued to surface. A 2023 user reported that the string pulled through during removal, leaving a large fragment lodged inside her that required a hospital visit and led to infections and bladder inflammation. A 2025 report described the same string-pull-through problem followed by bacterial vaginosis.1Top Class Actions. These Organic Tampons Can Unravel Inside Your Body, a Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
At least one adverse event has been logged in the FDA’s MAUDE database. A November 2023 report classified as a “Serious Injury” described a LOLA Regular Organic Cotton Tampon that failed to expand properly, appeared “shredded” and “unraveled” upon removal, and left cotton remnants in the vaginal canal. The consumer, who identified as a medical provider, raised concerns about vaginal excoriation, foreign-body retention, and toxic shock syndrome from fiber fragments harboring bacteria.4FDA MAUDE Database. MAUDE Adverse Event Report – LOLA Regular Organic Cotton Tampons
How the Case Ended
The lawsuit never reached class certification or any ruling on the merits. On February 22, 2022, the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i). The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Manson gave it up on her own initiative and could in theory refile, though no refiling is known to have happened.5PACER Monitor. Manson v. ALYK, Inc.
No public explanation for the dismissal has surfaced. Because the case ended without a court order, there is no indication of a settlement, and ALYK never had to defend the claims on the merits. No product recall or FDA enforcement action against LOLA tampons has been publicly reported in connection with the allegations.1Top Class Actions. These Organic Tampons Can Unravel Inside Your Body, a Class Action Lawsuit Alleges For consumers who bought LOLA tampons hoping to file a claim, there is no LOLA settlement fund to file against.
A Comparable Tampon Case That Did Settle
The LOLA case was not the only unraveling suit of its era. A parallel class action against Kimberly-Clark alleged that U by Kotex tampons came apart during removal, leaving fragments inside users and causing infections and irritation. That case, Moore v. Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, produced a nationwide settlement valued at more than $11 million, with a $7 million consumer fund. Class members could claim up to $30 without proof of purchase, or a full refund with receipts, for U by Kotex products bought between March 2013 and November 2019.6Bursor & Fisher. Kotex Class Action Settlement7PR Newswire. U by Kotex Class Action Settlement Bursor & Fisher, the firm that represented Manson, also handled that case.
LOLA and the Heavy Metals Lawsuits
LOLA has not been named in the separate wave of tampon lawsuits that emerged in 2024 over heavy metal contamination. Those cases, aimed at brands like Tampax and Kotex, followed a UC Berkeley-led study published in July 2024 that found measurable concentrations of metals including lead and arsenic in tampons from multiple brands.8UC Berkeley School of Public Health. First Study to Measure Toxic Metals in Tampons Shows Arsenic and Lead LOLA responded by commissioning independent testing through the laboratory SGS, which the company said found lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and antimony “not detected” in its tampons, pads, and liners. LOLA said it would repeat the testing every six months and noted that its products are certified under the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and the Global Organic Textile Standard.9MyLola.com. Do LOLA Tampons Contain Heavy Metals The unraveling allegations and the heavy metals allegations are distinct issues, and the LOLA case addressed only the former.