Why The Pink Tax Should Have You Seeing Red

Why the Pink Tax Should Have You Seeing Red; And What to Do About It by Megan A Sherlock

Why the Pink Tax Should Have You Seeing Red; And What to Do About It

The cost of being a woman isn't just at the checkout counter, it may be hiding inside the products you trust most. Every March, Women's History Month invites us to celebrate how far we have come. The right to vote. The right to own property. The right to hold credit cards in our own names. One quiet inequity persists in plain sight on pharmacy shelves across the country: women routinely pay more, for more products, and receive less protection in return. This is the pink tax. Sure, we can choose to use men’s products, their razors really are better and after a day spent reading all the ingredients on all the deodorants at shop rite, I found men’s deodorant consistently had less offensive ingredients. I’m okay with smelling like ARTIC THUNDER or BEAR FISTICUFFS(I made these up if you work for a cosmetics company, I’d love to throw some fun names at ya!)

On a more serious note when it applies to the most intimate health products women use for period care it stops being just a financial issue and becomes a public health one. From the pricing disparity, the chemical exposure hidden inside mainstream products, and what a new wave of brands and innovators are doing to begin though not yet fully solve the problem. The term "pink tax" refers to the widespread practice of charging more for products and services marketed to women than for comparable items marketed to men. A 2015 study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that women's products cost an average of 7% more than nearly identical men's products — from razors to shampoo to dry-cleaning services. Over a lifetime, economists estimate this disparity costs the average woman between $1,300 and $2,200 extra per year.

The pink tax on period products operates differently from the pink tax on razors. It isn't just that women are charged more for tampons than men are for comparable hygiene products.(There isn’t a comparable hygiene product, males do not shed their uterine lining every 28 days) It's that tampons and pads are biological necessities, not lifestyle choices and yet in many U.S. states they are still taxed as luxury goods. As of 2026, over 20 states continue to levy sales tax on menstrual products, while items like Rogaine and erectile dysfunction medications are often categorized as tax-exempt medical necessities.

Period products are not a luxury. They are a biological requirement. Taxing them as anything else is an economic statement about whose health the system chooses to prioritize. This financial disparity compounds with the gender wage gap. Women earn approximately 84 cents for every dollar earned by men. They are simultaneously earning less and spending more, a compounding inequity that falls most heavily on low-income women and women of color, who may be forced to choose between period products and food, a phenomenon known as period poverty.

Beyond the price tag lies a more intimate inequity: the question of what is inside the products themselves. For decades, mainstream tampon and pad manufacturers have not been required to fully disclose their ingredient lists. The result is that millions of women have been inserting products into one of the most absorbent and permeable tissues in the body with little to no knowledge of what those products contain.

In 2024, a landmark NIEHS-funded study published in the journal Environment International became the first research of its kind to measure metal concentrations in tampons. Scientists tested 30 tampons from 14 brands and 18 product lines. The results: 12 of the 16 metals tested were detected — and lead was found in 100% of the tampons examined. Toxic metals including cadmium and arsenic were also identified across the samples.

Crucially, the study noted that lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons, while arsenic levels were actually higher in organic varieties, a sobering reminder that "organic" is not a guarantee of safety from all contaminants. Researchers were clear that more work is needed to determine exactly how much of these metals may leach from tampons into vaginal tissue. But what the study did make clear is that we have been asking women to trust products whose contents were largely unstudied. Source: Shearston JA et al. "Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s." Environment International, August 2024. NIEHS Environmental Factor.

Tampon safety concerns don't stop at metals. A 2023 systematic review published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology examined 15 peer-reviewed studies on chemicals found in menstrual products. The review found measurable levels of phthalates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), parabens, environmental phenols, fragrance chemicals, and dioxins in menstrual products.

The implications are significant. The vaginal and vulvar tissue is highly permeable — meaning it absorbs chemicals readily and, critically, without the first-pass metabolism that the digestive system provides. In simpler terms: what goes in does not get filtered before entering the bloodstream. The average menstruating person will use over 11,000 tampons or pads across their lifetime. That is over 11,000 opportunities for chemical exposure at one of the body's most sensitive sites.

The systematic review concluded that menstrual products represent a potentially important route of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, compounds capable of interfering with the hormonal systems that govern everything from fertility and menstrual cycle regulation to mood and metabolism.

Source: Marroquin J et al. "Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review." BJOG, April 2024 (published online September 2023). PubMed ID: 37743685.

Period products are not the only source of chemical exposure women face disproportionately. Research has shown that the average woman applies an estimated 168 chemicals to her body each day through skincare, makeup, haircare, and hygiene products, compared to approximately 85 for men. Many of these chemicals overlap with those found in menstrual products: phthalates in fragranced lotions, parabens in shampoos and moisturizers, PFAS ("forever chemicals") in waterproof cosmetics and, as has been discovered, in certain period underwear products.

This accumulation is what health advocates call the "body burden" the total load of chemical exposure a person carries at any given time. For menstruating women, that burden is uniquely compounded by the repeated, intimate exposure from period products used monthly for decades. It is, in the most literal sense, an invisible tax on existing in a female body in a marketplace that has prioritized profitability over health.

This is not about personal failure or poor choices. This is about systems that were never designed with women's health as the primary metric of success.

It is worth noting that these are macro-level failures regulatory gaps, industry indifference, and a historic lack of research funding into women's health. But that does not render individual choices meaningless. When enough people shift their spending, markets follow. Knowledge is not just power; it is leverage.

The research arrives amid a broader reckoning in the period care industry. In recent years, major mainstream brands have faced significant public scrutiny. Always pads, manufactured by Procter & Gamble, became the subject of widespread social media outrage after consumer allegations, later reported by outlets including Cosmopolitan claimed that mold or foreign materials had been found in sealed products. While Always disputed many of these claims, the controversy sparked a broader conversation about quality control and transparency in the period care industry.

Class action lawsuits have emerged against brands including L. by Procter & Gamble and LOLA, with plaintiffs alleging that products marketed as "100% organic" contained synthetic ingredients including paraffin wax and titanium dioxide — disclosed only in fine print. These lawsuits reflect a growing consumer demand for genuine transparency, not marketing language masquerading as safety.

Meanwhile, PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called "forever chemicals" for their inability to break down in the environment or the body — have been detected in period underwear products from several brands. Third-party testing has flagged detectable fluorine levels in certain product lines, raising questions about what level of chemical exposure is acceptable when it comes to intimate care products.

The through-line across all of these issues is the same: an industry operating in a regulatory environment that has not kept pace with what consumers now know they deserve. We need to vote with our dollars as these companies routinely respond with resentment for being held accountable for their obviously unrcontionable behavior. They see the consumer as a road bump in the supply chain. These companies feel an entitlement to our financial support without accountability for their negligence as the endangered the public.

The good news is that a growing number of brands are choosing to operate differently. While no company is without complexity, the following represent meaningful steps toward safer, more transparent period care.

Cora

Founded in 2016 with a mission to bring organic period care to mainstream retail, Cora has become one of the most recognized "clean" period brands in the United States. Its tampons are made with 100% GOTS-certified (Global Organic Textile Standard) organic cotton and are formulated without chlorine, synthetic fragrances, dyes, or pesticides. Cora is B Corp-certified, reflecting high standards for social and environmental accountability, and has donated tens of millions of period products to those in need globally.

It is worth noting, however, that third-party testing of Cora's period underwear line previously detected fluorine at measurable levels — a reminder that even mission-driven brands require ongoing scrutiny. As of publication, Cora tampons have not been named in any active safety or heavy metals litigation, and the brand actively publishes its ingredient lists. Consumers are encouraged to check for current certifications and testing disclosures on Cora's website when making purchasing decisions.

August

August is a Gen Z-founded, Harvard-born brand that has built ingredient transparency and social equity directly into its business model. Its tampons are made with 100% GOTS-certified and Oeko-Tex Standard 100-certified organic cotton sourced from ethically farmed suppliers, and are free from toxins, dioxins, rayon, chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, fragrances, and dyes. August's applicators are BPA-free and recyclable, and the company is Climate Neutral Certified.

When the 2024 study on metals in tampons made headlines, August proactively published a public response detailing its testing protocols — including that no metals are intentionally added to its products and that its cotton undergoes evaluation by a registered toxicologist. The brand also covers tampon taxes in states that classify period products as luxury goods, and commits 10% of profits quarterly to period advocacy nonprofits. August represents what it looks like when a company builds its values into its supply chain from the start, rather than retrofitting them as a marketing strategy.

Other Brands Worth Knowing

Several other brands are contributing meaningfully to the cleaner period care space. Rael offers organic cotton tampons with chlorine-free processing and transparent ingredient disclosures. Natracare is a pioneer in plastic-free, fully organic period products with a long track record of environmental commitment. DeoDoc uses GOTS-certified cotton and is third-party tested specifically for heavy metals — an added layer of diligence that stands out given the 2024 research findings.

Innovation Without a Health Mandate: The Sequel Question

No conversation about the future of period care would be complete without acknowledging Sequel and its Spiral tampon — genuinely one of the most exciting product developments in the category in nearly a century.

Sequel was founded by Amanda Calabrese and Greta Meyer, both Stanford graduates and former high-level athletes, Calabrese a six-time national champion in competitive lifesaving, Meyer an All-American lacrosse player. They were inspired, in part, by their own experience competing in swimsuits and white shorts and wanting a tampon that could actually keep up. The company spent four and a half years in R&D and secured FDA 510(k) clearance in August 2023, making the Sequel Spiral the first engineering redesign of the tampon in approximately 80 years.

The innovation itself is genuinely impressive. The Sequel Spiral features a helical groove design that circumnavigates the outside of the tampon, creating a longer flow path that allows menstrual fluid to absorb more evenly and prevents premature leakage down one side — the primary failure point of traditional linear-grooved tampons. The company has secured over 31 patents and was named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2025 list.

Sequel has done something remarkable: it proved that the tampon, unchanged for 80 years, could be reimagined. The question is what that reimagination is in service of.

And yet, a meaningful question remains, one that the period care conversation needs to hold space for: Does engineering innovation automatically translate to a healthier product?

Sequel's tampons are marketed as dye-free, dioxin-free, elemental chlorine-free, fragrance-free, and made from plant-based viscose fiber. These are positive attributes. However, a review of the product's publicly available ingredient list reveals the presence of viscose rayon, polyethylene and polyester in the security veil, PEG castor oil, phosphate ether-based oils, and paraffin wax — ingredients that would not appear on a certified organic product and that give ingredient-conscious consumers reason to ask further questions.

To be clear: Sequel went through an extensive FDA clearance process, and its product is as safe as other cleared tampons on the market according to current regulatory standards. But "as safe as other cleared tampons" is a bar we now know deserves scrutiny. The 2024 research on metals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in tampons applies to the category broadly — and FDA clearance addresses safety and efficacy of design, not comprehensive ingredient transparency at the level many consumers now expect.

Sequel's founders have spoken compellingly about performance and about closing the gap between what women deserve from their period products and what they have historically received. That is a worthy mission. The next frontier — for Sequel and for the industry at large — is whether performance innovation and ingredient health can advance together, rather than separately. Women deserve both a tampon that works better and one made with components that reflect a genuine commitment to long-term wellbeing.

This is not a criticism of Sequel's achievement, which is real and significant. It is an invitation to the innovators who have already proven they can rethink design to also commit to the question that research is now making impossible to ignore: what are we asking women's bodies to absorb?

Understanding the pink tax in its fullest form, as a pricing disparity, a chemical exposure risk, and a regulatory failure, is the first step. The second is knowing that your choices, made collectively with other informed consumers, have the power to shift markets. Here is where to begin.

Switch Your Products Where You Can

• Choose certified organic cotton tampons from brands with full ingredient transparency, such as August, Rael, Natracare, or DeoDoc.

• If pads are your preference, look for products with an organic cotton topsheet and chlorine-free processing.

• Consider reusable options: menstrual cups and discs made from medical-grade silicone carry essentially zero chemical exposure risk and dramatically reduce plastic waste.

• If exploring period underwear, research current PFAS testing results for any brand you consider. The landscape is changing, and many brands have reformulated in recent years.

• Look for these certifications: GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), Oeko-Tex Standard 100, and B Corp.

Read Labels Like Your Health Depends on It — Because It Might

• Avoid products listing "fragrance" or "parfum" — these terms can mask dozens of undisclosed chemical compounds.

• Be cautious of terms like "unscented" paired with "odor-neutralizing" — these often indicate the presence of masking fragrances.

• Look for "elemental chlorine-free" processing, which significantly reduces dioxin contamination risk compared to conventional bleaching.

• When in doubt, contact a brand directly and ask for their full ingredient disclosure and third-party testing documentation.

Use Your Voice and Your Vote

• Support federal and state legislation requiring full ingredient labeling on menstrual products. The Menstrual Products Right to Know Act has been introduced in Congress to mandate this disclosure.

• Know your state's tampon tax status and support candidates who advocate for its elimination.

• Talk about this. Period stigma has historically suppressed these very conversations. The more openly we discuss what is in our products and what we deserve from them, the faster the industry moves.

It bears repeating: the failures described in this article are systemic. They reflect decades of underinvestment in women's health research, regulatory frameworks that have not kept pace with consumer knowledge, and a marketplace that has profited from both women's spending and their silence. Placing the burden of fixing this entirely on individual consumers is its own form of inequity.

Individual choices, made in community with others, are one of the most powerful forces for market change that exists. The rise of the organic period care category, the legislative momentum around tampon taxes, and the fact that a startup tampon company can secure 31 patents and a TIME Best Invention designation all demonstrate that this conversation is moving. Your dollar is a signal. Your awareness is a tool. Sharing what you know with even one other person is an act of advocacy.

The pink tax is not a single issue. It is a lens through which we can see how the intersection of gender, capitalism, and inadequate regulation has resulted in women paying more — in money, in chemical exposure, and in health risk for the basic experience of having a period.

Women's History Month is a time to celebrate progress. It is also a time to name what remains unfinished. The fight for reproductive autonomy, for economic equity, and now for ingredient transparency in period products are all chapters in the same long story. And unlike many systemic battles, this one has a meaningful micro-level entry point: the next time you reach for a box of tampons, you can choose differently. That choice, multiplied across millions of women, is the market signal that makes companies listen.

The information exists. The alternatives exist. You have the power to use both.

Sources & Further Reading

1. Shearston JA et al. "Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s." Environment International, Vol. 190, 2024. NIEHS Environmental Factor, August 2024. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/factor/2024/8/feature/3-feature-metals-in-tampons

2. Marroquin J et al. "Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review." BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, April 2024. PubMed ID: 37743685. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37743685/

3. Sequel Spiral Tampon FDA Clearance. FierceBiotech, August 2023. TIME Best Inventions of 2025.

4. Always Pads Mold Allegations. Cosmopolitan, 2024. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a69135972/always-pads-mold-allegations

5. Cora Period Underwear PFAS Testing. Mamavation Lab Report. Women's Voices for the Earth ingredient transparency advocacy.

6. August Response to Tampon Metals Study. itsaugust.co/blogs/news, July 2024.

7. Dr. Jen Gunter on Sequel Spiral Tampon. Vajenda Substack, August 2023.

8. NYC Department of Consumer Affairs. "From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer." 2015.

9. Axios: "Tampons, Reinvented." May 2024.

10. Fast Company: "This Gen Z-founded period brand is building a community around sustainable, inclusive menstrual care." February 2022.

Megan Sherlock is a wellness professional passionate about somatic movement and holistic healing. She combines her expertise in fitness, yoga, and nutrition with the transformative power of energy work to help clients reconnect with their bodies and emotions. Megan holds certifications in NASM CPT, RYT 200, CGFI, CNC, BCS, CF1, ViPR, TriggerPoint SMR, Usui Reiki Master, and PN1.