First, a baby-formula shortage. And now this. Women across the country have reported they’ve had difficulties finding their tampons of choice. Manufacturers say they are boosting production to meet the demand, and have said that the shortage should be temporary. The tampon and sanitary pad industry is worth an estimated $3 billion a year in revenue.
“The shelves are CLEARED,” one Twitter user wrote. Maggie Hassan, a Democratic junior senator from New Hampshire, said on Twitter that she was “calling on CEOs of the four major tampon producers to increase supply — not prices.” The baby-formula and tampon shortage is a double whammy for women. “It uniquely impacts women in a really critical way. Both of these products are important to health and wellness,” said Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician with One Medical based in Phoenix, Ariz. While the tampon shortage doesn’t appear to be as severe as the baby formula shortage, it’s adding another layer of stress for women. Suzy Shinn, a Grammy-nominated sound engineer, wrote, “I am not emotionally strong enough to handle a tampon shortage.” Edgewell Personal Care
EPC,
-0.34%,
the manufacturer of tampon brands including Playtex and o.b., said in its second-quarter earnings that a lack of raw materials and manufacturing labor shortages had hurt the supply of tampons. Procter & Gamble
PG,
-0.72%,
the manufacturer of Tampax and L brands, controls more than half of the domestic tampon market, according to the Wall Street Journal. “We expect this is a temporary situation in the U.S., 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”, Procter & Gamble spokesperson told MarketWatch. Edgewell Personal Care did not respond to a request to comment.
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