Public assistance programs don’t cover period care.
In Los Angeles County, where poverty rates are the highest in California, 1 in 4 teens struggles to afford or access period products. Period poverty disproportionately impacts Latine and Black women and girls, one in five of whom live below the federal poverty line.
Since programs like SNAP, WIC, and CalFresh don’t cover menstrual products, many are forced to stretch supplies, reuse items, or improvise with toilet paper or socks – putting their health at risk. Nearly 70% of those experiencing period poverty report regular symptoms of depression.
There are no federal regulations requiring ingredient disclosure in pads or tampons.
There are no federal regulations requiring companies to disclose what’s in pads and tampons. Test results have found ingredients in pads and tampons that are known to be harmful to menstruators' health, including chemicals that cause cellular damage, cancer, reproductive harm, and hormone disruption. These products touch highly-absorptive vaginal/vulvar tissue, often for hours at a time, and are used by millions of people.
The average person uses 14,000 disposable period products in their lifetime.
One person will use about 14,000 disposable period products in her lifetime. Plastic waste from these products can take up to 800 years to decompose, polluting ecosystems and leaching harmful chemicals into our food and water. Plastic tampon applicators are the fifth most common kind of waste found on beaches.