Increase in the Price of Menstrual Products
- Alexza Zargoza
- Jul 31, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 9
Overview of menstrual product prices
Average cost of $20 spent on menstrual products per cycle in 2024
According to the Wall Street Journal, the prices of menstrual products have risen faster than the price of food
2019-2024: Since 2019, the average price of a pack of pads has increased by 41% (current average price $6.50) since 2019 and the average price of tampons has increased by 36% (current average price $8.29)
From 2022-2023 alone, the average price for both tampons and pads rose by 10%
This exceeded the 2022 inflation rate (~8%) which was the highest the U.S. had seen in 40 years
Major cause of price increase: COVID-19, inflation and state taxes
Inflation:
Inflation has increased the price of menstrual products in the past few years due to a rise in supply chain costs (prices for materials, fuel, transportation, etc.)
Post-pandemic material shortage -> rise in prices of cotton and plastics -> rise in production cost for menstrual products
Mainly due to the COVID pandemic
For example, prices in plastic materials and resins increased by 9.2% from April 2021 to April 2022
Loss of cotton crops due to covid supply shortage and drought has driven up prices
Rise in prices has actually led to a fall in sales given that fewer women are able to afford purchasing products compared to a few years ago
State taxes:
State taxes go hand-in-hand with inflation: when inflation goes up -> costs of the menstrual product are worsened by the state and municipal taxes
Tampon tax: state taxes imposed on menstrual products that make up a significant amount of public revenue collection (As of May, 2024 20 out of 50 states still charge the tax)
Before eliminating the tax, New York state collected around $14 million per year just from the tampon tax
Who is being affected?
Primarily lower-income women or women who are lower-income and part of a minority group
Research done at the University of California found European American women (71 percent) were significantly more likely to use tampons in adolescence compared to African American women (29 percent), Latina women whose preferred language was English (22 percent), and Latina women whose preferred language was Spanish (5 percent)
Many women are being forced to make their products last longer or resort to home-made remedies, which can have health consequences and be unsanitary
How many people have been affected by this price increase?
Amount of women facing period poverty keeps increasing
From 2018 to 2021, the number of women facing period poverty increased by 38% (Alliance for Period Poverty)
As of 2023, 1 in 4 teens and 1 in 3 adults struggle to afford period products in the U.S. (UNWomen.org)
Is anything being done? Do any major barriers exist?
Overall lack of federal support
U.S. federal government programs for low-income households, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), do not cover menstrual products
However, some efforts are being done
In 2021, Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY), introduced the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, proposing federal grants to provide free menstrual products to schools, incarcerated people, and even in office buildings
Some states, like Virginia and New York have passed legislation requiring schools to provide free menstrual products
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