Sanitary towels without SLS to face market ban in October

The Consumer Affairs Authority has made SLS certification mandatory for locally manufactured sanitary towels.

Accordingly, manufacturing, packaging, transporting, storing, and selling any sanitary towel product without the official certification logo of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) within the country after 8 October 2026 is completely prohibited.

This special order was issued under Section 12(2) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003, with the aim of ensuring consumer safety.

The product categories affected by the new regulations are single-use sanitary towels (SLS 1732 standard) and single-use slim sanitary towels (SLS 1748 standard).

In addition to local products, this law is also strictly implemented for sanitary towels imported from abroad.

No imported sanitary towel product that is not approved under the import standardisation and quality control inspection scheme of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution will be permitted to enter Sri Lanka or be sold in the market.

This order applies equally to all new amendments and updates made to these product standards by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution in the future, the Consumer Affairs Authority emphasised.