Menstrual Product Shortages
By Meghan Freebeck | Simply the Basics
Due to high costs for cotton and plastic, we are seeing just the beginning of a major tampon shortage. For those that already struggle to access and afford their most basic need - this burden is astronomical!
What is happening?
The shortage stems from a combination of factory staffing challenges, transportation bottlenecks, and the rising costs of raw materials used to make menstrual products. A spokesperson for CVS said that in recent weeks, suppliers haven't been able to fulfill the full orders placed by the company. P&G, which owns the biggest market share of menstrual products, said that sourcing and transporting raw materials for menstrual products, as well as getting products on trucks to retailers, "continues to be costly and highly volatile."
The materials that make up tampons, including cotton, rayon, fluff pulp and plastic, have been in high demand for use in masks and other medical products during the pandemic. Extreme drought in Texas, diesel prices, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine also tightened the supply of those goods. The average price for tampons rose by nearly 10% in the last year, Bloomberg reported, because of rising costs of the materials used.
Additionally, Tampons are getting more expensive due to inflation. A year after announcing increased prices on feminine care products, P&G said that ongoing supply chain constraints has led to another price hike on the products, which will go into effect by July.
What we have here is yet another supply chain problem where people are bearing the brunt of the cost, just as parents struggle to feed their babies during the baby formula shortage!
What is the impact?
At Simply the Basics, we have seen a large drop in donations for some time. Even our ongoing partnerships with menstrual manufacturers have struggled to provide their regular shipments, at times even missing them entirely.
We have experienced a shortage of 4,000 fewer menstrual products than anticipated for our services in the last quarter.
This shortage creates a tremendous gap for our Recipients, many of whom rely on Simply the Basics to help offset the cost of menstrual supplies as they struggle to meet their basic needs.
One teen in Hawaii, where the shortage is already becoming a great concern, said she’s worried about the shortage. “My menstrual cycle is something that I deal with every month. If I didn’t have those (tampons), I would feel really sick,” she said.
Manufacturers say the shortage is temporary, but offered no timeline as to when we might see the cost reduce or supplies become readily available.
What are the consequences?
We already know that a lack of access to menstrual care has wide-reaching effects. "Not having access to menstrual products can disrupt lives through disruptions to work, school and social lives," says Jhumka Gupta, an associate professor in the department of global and community health at George Mason University.
People who don't have consistent access to menstrual products use unsafe, homemade methods to get by. Gupta's study found that one-third of low-income people who menstruate resorted to "rags, toilet paper, or children's diapers," cutting them up to create an improvised pad. Some even use a "towel or sock" — neither of which is a hygienic option.
Others will resort to using the same tampon for as many as 12 ore more hours at a time because they are so expensive. But using a tampon for so many hours is against the Food and Drug Administration advice to change your tampon every four to eight hours, with eight hours being the maximum for a single tampon. People are going to be at a much higher risk for toxic shock syndrome, a life-threatening condition brought on by bacterial infection.
This is a public health crisis that will impact half of the population, and it will only be getting worse in the coming months.