Luxury tax on tampax golf club memberships or viagra

Dear Leading Ladies,

The aisles in the supermarkets and CVS are full of seemingly endless brands of tampons and sanitary napkins. Our televisions blare ads with “tests” comparing the absorbency of the different products. For most of us, the biggest challenge has always been deciding which menstrual product to choose.

Meanwhile, millions of girls and women struggle to afford this basic health need.

Can you believe this?

  • Globally, more than 500 million women and girls, close to 25% of all those who menstruate, experience “period poverty,” that is, they do not have access to feminine hygiene products.

  • One in five teenagers in the United States has struggled to afford menstrual products.

  • In close to 30 states, period products are subject to a state sales tax because they are considered non-essential items. This increases the price of products, making them less accessible to women living in poverty.

  • The tampon tax is also known as the “pink tax,” a term used to describe a form of gender-based discrimination. Because of this tax, women in the United States are estimated to spend at least an additional $120 million per year on menstrual products.

  • Items such as prescriptions, some over-the-counter drugs, toilet paper, condoms, and groceries — and even some items like golf club memberships and erectile dysfunction pills — are typically tax-exempt.

  • Menstrual products are not covered by SNAP benefits. (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly referred to as food stamps)

  • Menstrual products are rarely donated to shelters, food pantries, or public schools.

  • Some countries are making menstrual products free in public spaces. Short of providing them for free, getting rid of the tampon taxes will help reduce costs.

  • Menstrual equity advocates warn that ending period poverty will not be achieved by providing affordable menstrual hygiene products alone. Menstrual equity also requires education, adequate water and sanitation facilities, and addressing harmful gender norms.

Learn more about what lawyers and other advocates are doing to get rid of the sales tax on menstrual products and how to support their efforts at periodequity.org

bbc.co.uk

Local action

A Massachusetts non-profit organization, Dignity Matters, is working to provide menstrual products to women in need. Dignity Matters collects, purchases, and supplies feminine hygiene products, bras, and underwear to women and girls who are homeless or disadvantaged, “in order to help them stay healthy, regain self-confidence, and live with basic dignity.” As their website explains, “Clients we assist are commonly single mothers, low-income or homeless women or women and teens who escaped domestic violence and cannot safely return home.” Many are immigrants and refugees, transgender and LGBT people.

To distribute products, Dignity Matters partners with food pantries, public schools and after-school programs, homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, and medical centers for the homeless.

What about the environment?

The subject of menstrual products has also begun to concern environmentalists, since landfills are constantly receiving tampons and sanitary napkins that can take centuries to compost. Gen Z is more environmentally conscious and more open about discussing menstruation — removing it from the historically long list of taboo subjects.

According to a recent article in the New York Times by Pooja Makhijani, there are “more options for reusable period products like absorbent underwear, menstrual cups, cloth pads and panty liners, and applicator-free tampons are on the market now than ever before — some made just for teens and tweens.” Although reusable products are only a small fraction of the market now, they are expected to increase in the next decade.

Reusable or single-use?

Not surprisingly, however, reusable products are more expensive than single-use items. A pair of reusable underwear can cost $25, and a cup costs around $60. In the long run, these items save money, but they require a significant initial outlay of funds, creating an obstacle for women without means. There are additional practical issues around reusable menstrual products for women who are homeless or living in shelters.

To maintain the sanitary status of reusable items requires access to laundry facilities, as well as storage space, Dignity Matters Community Outreach Coordinator Marianne Gibson explained to us. Although Dignity Matters “happily and gratefully accepts these items if donated, these items are not our primary needs,” she said. What Dignity Matters finds most helpful to women without their own living space are regular underpants, tampons, and sanitary napkins of any brand.

Would you like to help? Go to the Dignity Matters website to locate their drop boxes, find where to ship items, access their Amazon Wish List, and/or make monetary donations.

Providing menstrual items for women in need is something we can do right now. That’s hopeful.

Be well,

Therese
Judy
Mary
Beth
Leading Ladies Executive Team
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org
Leadingladiesvote.org

Brenda Riddell