Billions of women get their period every month. Despite living with this naturally occurring process since the teenage years, young girls and women aren’t properly educated on the logistics of the products they use. Many  cause harm to our reproductive system and are very costly while corporations profit off of our needs.

Women have been taken advantage of for far too long. The current standard of feminine care products is detrimental to women's health and financial wellbeing. Action must be taken to improve the level of care and education that women receive about menstruation.  

Women aren’t properly educated on the ingredients of the products they use. Most probably haven’t even looked at the side of their tampon box and noticed an ingredients label. If they did, they would be surprised that the information listed is likely not accurate. The FDA doesn’t require feminine care products to put an accurate ingredients label on their box.

This lack of regulation allows companies to put whatever they want into their products regardless of the harm they pose to women's bodies. To save money, many companies put pesticides on their cotton plants to make them grow faster and look more appealing. 

However pads and tampons aren’t supposed to be the bright white color they are when pulled out of the box. When they look like this they are being treated with pesticides, dioxins, and furans which are all linked to causing cancer and reproductive harm as stated on the website MadeSafe. All of these harmful chemicals are used to make cotton plants grow at a quicker rate and make feminine care products have a bright white coloring. 

Believe it or not, the ingredients within feminine care products also control how your body feels. Once I switched to the organic brand Lola, I noticed significantly less cramps and overall discomfort. Information from Necessite further supports this claim saying “these [carcinogenic] materials have also been linked to more severe cramps.” I urge women to do more research on their products before purchasing in order to save their bodies and sanity.

It can be difficult for brands like Lola to advertise their products. They are a relatively new female owned and operated company with not as much money to advertise as well known brands like Playtex and Tampax. 

Not only are our bodies being harmed by the destructive ingredients in our feminine care products, but they are also being designed by men. Both of these two brands listed above have male CEOs. When you look up the owner of Playtex the search result from Culture Fandom states “Joel Smilow.” How can it be that companies designed for the needs of women are owned by men? It’s  impossible for a male to understand the needs of a woman's body when menstruating so why are they being put in positions of power when it comes to feminine care? Females should be the face of feminine care, not men. Women must be represented in companies designed for women's health.

Despite feminine products being a necessity for women everywhere numerous places still have a tampon tax. Without these products we would be unable to function normally, and the government uses this knowledge to take advantage of us. 

As seen in the chart to the left from Statista, the US has the fifth highest tax rate on feminine care. As progressive as we claim to be, it’s ridiculous that women are still forced to pay such high prices for necessities. Fourteen states throughout the US have individually made the decision to make menstrual products tax free; however, this isn’t enough. As a collective society we must band together to show that we value women and their needs by making the products we need tax free. 

It’s time for action to be taken toward women's health. The FDA must require an accurate ingredients label on all feminie care products and hold companies accountable for putting harmful chemicals into our products. Women must be put in decision making positions surrounding feminie care, and when they are, their companies must be valued and supported. 

The time for change is now. Women's health must be taken more seriously to really show women are valued by society. Young girls and women must be educated on the sourcing of the products they use and how it can affect their bodies.