The Real Reason We're Experiencing a Tampon Shortage Right Now

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You might have noticed that it's been increasingly difficult to find your go-to brand of tampons at the store lately. I recently sent my husband to our local CVS to buy a box, and even equipped him with pictures of the specific type I wanted. When he returned with a totally different product than I had asked for, I chalked it up to him not looking hard enough...

... but he actually did try to find the right tampons. They were just nowhere to be found. The shelves were nearly bare, and they haven't been in stock since thanks to the current tampon shortage.

Product shortages are nothing new at this point, with supply chain issues impacting everything from baby formula to fuel prices, but that doesn't mean that they're any less important or panic-inducing when they happen.

So what can you do if your favorite tampons are nowhere to be found? Experts at Good Housekeeping Institute have reached out to representatives at tampon brands for insight as to what the tampon shortage is all about. And our Textiles Lab analysts have tested period products of all kinds – from organic tampons to menstrual cups to period underwear and swimwear – and have shared some tampon product alternatives in case your store shelves are empty.

Why is there a tampon shortage?

During the global pandemic, supply chain issues have impacted the production and delivery of all sorts of products, but not all products are created equal. Some products, like tampons, are necessities, and to the more than 800 million people who menstruate on any given day, life can't really move on without them.

Tampon shortages are the result of a conglomerate of issues happening throughout the supply chain. Time reported that Procter & Gamble, owner of popular period product brands Tampax, Always and L., is struggling to source the raw materials needed to produce tampons, and that the company is having a hard time transporting the raw materials to production facilities and then transporting the final products to their retail locations.

Along with material and transportation issues, some tampon manufacturers are experiencing staffing shortages in their factories, which can impact production time and turnaround. Edgewell, manufacturer of tampon brands Playtex and O.b. told Good Housekeeping that it has unfortunately experienced workforce shortages at its production facilities in relation to COVID surges. The brand claims that inventory has been negatively impacted as a result.

Bloomberg shared that inflation has led to a 9.8% increase in price for a box of tampons and an 8.3% increase in price for a pack of pads in the last year. The current global shortages, in addition to inflation, are making it increasingly difficult to find period products, especially at reasonable prices. According to the Journal of Global Health Reports (JOGHR), many menstruating people have been experiencing period poverty, or a lack of access to affordable period products. Tampon brands are now able to sell their products for even more because of the rules of basic economics – demand for tampons is still high while supply is low.

What does Amy Schumer have to do with it?

Procter & Gamble spokesperson Cheri McMaster recently told Time that the reason there is low supply of tampons from the company's popular brand Tampax is the fact that they started working with comedian Amy Schumer for their ad campaigns in 2020, which has caused demand for Tampax tampon products to boom.