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As record-high inflation continues and supply chain issues persist, eggs, gas, and car repairs aren\u2019t the only things with skyrocketing price tags. Another daily living essential has been significantly impacted: Period products. Supply chain problems such as a tampon shortage and price gouging are putting an added strain on consumers who menstruate. In this article, we will discuss the Pink Tax, why menstruation is an essential right, and the ways inflation is impacting period products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even before the latest waves of pandemic-induced supply chain issues and global inflation started to affect the prices of period products, certain feminine products such as tampons, pads, and even razors that are specifically marketed towards women tend to carry an additional cost. You may have heard the term \u201cThe Pink Tax\u201d before; it\u2019s a common label referring to the discriminatory gender-specific pricing of services and products marketed towards women. For example, bright pink and purple packaged razors promoted as being \u201cfor women\u201d cost <\/span>more<\/span> than the exact same products promoted \u201cfor men.\u201d While a few dollars more here, a couple dimes there, may not seem like a big deal individually, cumulatively this cost differential can add up fast. On average, women pay <\/span>13%<\/span> more than men for similar products, and rising prices disproportionately affect women and the menstruating population since they were already paying the \u201cpink tax.\u201d Moreover, there is also the \u201c<\/span>Tampon Tax<\/span>,\u201d an increase in state taxes on menstrual products that vary depending on the municipality, which we will discuss more in-depth below.<\/span><\/p>\n Menstrual health is a critical component of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. The U.N. <\/span>High Commissioner For Human Rights<\/span> released a statement last June addressing how menstrual health and access to menstrual sanitary products \u201cis an important determinant for the realization of all human rights of women and girls in all their diversity, the achievement of gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals.\u201d Access to affordable menstrual products can be considered a basic right- one that inflation is sadly threatening.<\/span><\/p>\n Our grocery bills seem to be growing every month, but how and why exactly are period products being impacted by inflation? Let\u2019s break down the ways inflation and supply chain issues interweave to continually hike price tags for basic menstrual products.<\/span><\/p>\n Even without inflation, menstrual hygiene has already been facing cost increases from state taxes, including the \u201c<\/span>tampon tax<\/span>.\u201d Essentially, the \u201ctampon tax\u201d refers to state taxes levied on feminine products like tampons, pads, and diapers, which make up a significant amount of public revenue collection, and <\/span>30 out of 50<\/span> U.S. states have a state sales tax on period products. California collects around $55 million per year in just diaper and tampon taxes alone, and New York state collects an estimated $14 million annually from the tampon tax. The public revenue such taxes generate- and the undue burden they place upon the menstruating population- makes it difficult for states to reduce costs of essential feminine products, and since the taxes are a percentage of the cost of the item, when inflation goes up the costs are compounded by state and municipal taxes. In the EU and UK, the tampon tax was <\/span>eliminated<\/span> in 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There isn\u2019t just one specific cause for the price spike; manufacturers often have no choice but to pass on higher costs for key components and logistics like transportation. The U.S. government\u2019s latest producer price index reports that prices for plastic resins and materials were up by 9.5% in April 2022 compared to the year before, and cotton futures were up by 40%. The rise in material costs along with transportation and fuel prices contributed to the average unit price of tampons in the U.S. jumping over <\/span>10%<\/span> higher year-over-year each full month in 2022, and the price of sanitary pads being over 10% higher year-over-year per month since April 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s another barrier to equal menstruation product access: U.S. federal government programs for low-income households such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) <\/span>do not cover<\/span> menstrual products. Menstrual inequity, or the unequal access to essential sanitary products, is a major problem because it forces many people to rely on less sanitary options like old rags, diapers, napkins, and newspapers, which can result in serious infections and <\/span>toxic shock syndrome<\/span>. Period poverty is a global issue that even in a wealthy country such as the U.S. affects around <\/span>16.9 million<\/span> people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Period poverty impacts women worldwide by limiting their ability to work or attend school when they\u2019re menstruating. Even before the pandemic, women were having trouble affording menstrual products; one <\/span>pre-pandemic study<\/span> in Obstetrics & Gynecology notes that 64% of women reported having difficulty at some point affording menstrual products, and another 21% reported that they couldn\u2019t afford these products on a monthly basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To combat this, reusable options such as menstrual cups that can be easily sterilized as well as disposable products like pads and tampons need to be tax-free and subsidized. Pads and tampons should be distributed at all public schools and health care facilities, and the <\/span>22 million women<\/span> who live in poverty in the U.S. as well as the enormous global population should have equal access to such essential products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Pink Tax<\/span><\/h2>\n
Menstrual Health As A Basic Right<\/span><\/h2>\n
How Period Products Are Being Affected By Inflation<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Tampon Tax<\/span><\/h3>\n
Rising Shipping Costs & Broken Supply Chains<\/span><\/h3>\n
Lack Of Federal Support<\/span><\/h3>\n
Fighting Period Poverty<\/span><\/h2>\n