Why is there a tampon shortage in the US and how long will it last?

The US is in the grips of serious supply chain disruption. You will have heard over the last weeks about the baby formula shortage and no doubt have been affected by the increasing price of fuel as many countries reduced their supply from Russia. Now, basic sanitary products are being threatened by shortages; tampons.

“To put it bluntly, tampons are next to impossible to find,” said Montana radio host and blogger Michelle Wolfe. “I would say it’s been like this for a solid six months.”

Andre Schulten, the chief financial officer of Procter & Gamble (P&G), which manufactures America’s biggest tampon brand Tampax, admitted that it has been “costly and highly volatile” to acquire the materials needed to produce the supply of tampons needed in a recent earnings report.

A spokesperson for the company recently told CNET, “We can assure you this is a temporary situation, and the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products. We are working with our retail partners to maximize availability, which has significantly increased over the last several months.”

What is behind the shortage?

Coupled with problems acquiring materiel, demand is up 7.7 percent over the past two years for Tampax tampons. The company points to a successful advertisement campaign with Amy Schumer for a reason for the shortages.

But this wouldn’t explain why other companies are having problems with their supply. Inflation, as ever, is proving to be a stubborn thorn in the side of consumers.

According to Bloomberg, their average price of a packet increased by 10 percent in the first six months of 2022 and the price of menstrual pads by eight per cent. The Period Project, an organisation which provides products to women in need, has had costs of a package, which includes tampons, pads, liners and wipes, increasing from $5.86 last summer to over $10 today.