It started with baby formula, then toilet paper and kitchen appliances, and now the stress on the supply chain’s latest victim is tampons. You may have heard about the alarming shortage in baby formula in the last month and the surging costs that came with it, but now the low stock and inflating prices have now made their way to the feminine-care aisle.
Why are tampons the latest commodity to suffer from shortages? The chief financial officer at Procter & Gamble—the manufacturer of Tampax—told The New York Times that the “costly and highly volatile” acquisition of raw materials like cotton and plastic is to blame. Now, the difficulty producing tampons is likely to be impacting your wallet as the price of a box of tampons has increased 10% since the beginning of the year, Bloomberg reports.
So, what do you do if you run out? In light of the recent shortage, now might be a good time to consider switching to reusable period products like menstrual discs or period underwear. But if that’s not your thing, make sure you are staying safe by checking your old tampon boxes for expiration dates and not opting to wear tampons for longer to save your supply as this can lead to toxic shock syndrome.
