Supply chain issues and surge in demand lead to shortage of tampons and menstrual products

People looking for stamps and other vintage goods find store shelves sparsely stocked and higher prices, CNN reports.

Driving the news: Popular retailers CVS and Walgreens, as well as major manufacturer Proctor & Gamble, have acknowledged a shortage of tampons and other menstrual products and said they are working to meet consumer demand as soon as possible, according to CNN. .

The big picture: Supply chain issues and historically high inflation have affected all kinds of goods. Tampon prices are up about 10% from a year ago, reports Bloomberg, while the cost of sanitary napkins is up more than 8% over the same period.

• Contributing to the price hike is a slight increase in the cost of manufacturing the products. The materials manufacturers need – cotton and plastic – have been in high demand for use in personal protective equipment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has limited the supply of fertilizer needed to grow cotton, CNN reports.

What they say : A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble, owner of the Tampax and Always brands, blamed higher demand on an ad campaign the company unveiled in July 2020 featuring comedian Amy Schumer, Time reported.

• Since then, “retail sales growth has exploded,” the spokesperson said.
• “We understand that it’s frustrating for consumers not to find what they need,” the spokesperson said, per CNN. “We can assure you that this is a temporary situation.”

Go further: Inflation rises 8.6%, fastest pace in over 40 years