Like Baby Formula, There is Also a Nationwide Tampon Shortage

It's not just baby formula that is in short supply. Major retail chains in the country report a shortage of tampon products, and women have posted on social media about their predicament finding tampons on store shelves.

The shortage is from a combination of factors, including factory problems, transportation delays, lack of workforce, and the rising cost of materials for the products like plastics, Good Morning America reports.

Not a joking matter

Michelle Wolfe, a radio host in Bozeman, Montana, said on her station's website that tampons have been next to impossible to find for the past six months.

While jokes about the shortage have sparked online, Mona Powell, the founder, and CEO of Dotstash, a San Diego-based company that offers feminine products on school campuses, said that the menstrual product shortage is a serious issue. Feminine hygiene and menstrual care products are necessary, and women need them for work or school to function.

Tampons, the manufactured pieces of cotton and plastics, are used by about 40 percent of women in the U.S. to absorb the blood during their monthly period.

According to Dana Marlowe, the founder of I Support the Girls, a group that provides bras and menstrual products to homeless people, they had a significant drop in tampon donations since the start of the year. She noted that their group received half as many contributions last year and reported that aisles in Silver Spring, Indianapolis, and Maryland had no tampons.

As per NBC Chicago, the brand missing on most store shelves is Tampax. Procter and Gamble, its maker, recently issued a statement acknowledging that some customers may find it difficult "to find what they need." Its spokesperson said they are working round the clock to ensure the supply does not go out of stock.

Aisles for menstrual pads, on the other hand, are well stocked.

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Reasons for the tampon shortage

Plastics are also in short supply, and there is a lack of labor and transportation bottlenecks.

Edgewell Personal Care had a severe staff shortage at its Dover facility. Since tampons are Class II medical devices and require quality control regulation, companies could not just put anybody on the assembly line.

According to Time, the raw materials of tampons - cotton, rayon, pulp, and plastic for applicators, have been some of the most in-demand materials during the pandemic as it is also used for medical products like personal protection equipment.

Powell cited that cotton sourced from India, China, and the U.S. are experiencing drought, causing its shortage. Sheng Lu, a professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, said that cotton demand is so high that this is the third straight year that the need for cotton has exceeded production. As of April, the price of cotton is 71 percent higher than the previous year.

Surprisingly, there is little discussion about the tampon shortage or a rush to solve it. Thyme Sullivan, the TOP Organic Project CEO, said that is because the issue does not affect the decision-makers. She added that in many places where decision-makers are males, tampon shortage is not on their radar.

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