Leading sanitary napkin manufacturers in China are apologizing after being accused of selling sanitary napkins shorter than advertised.
It comes amid a storm of anger after viral videos on social media showed Chinese women measuring the length of sanitary pads from popular brands – showing most of them did not meet what was stated on their packaging.
The outcry has extended to broader grievances that women are being harmed by feminine hygiene products, which have a history of safety scandals in China.
Chinese women have taken the initiative to denounce the quality of sanitary napkins, the most used feminine hygiene product in the country.
In one of the first videos, posted on November 3, a user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu examined nine brands of sanitary napkins with a measuring tape, demonstrating that they were all not the length listed on their labels. packaging.
“Will cutting off a few inches help you get rich?” the user wrote in his video.
These revelations quickly sparked widespread criticism, with consumers accusing sanitary napkin manufacturers of being misleading.
“The length of inflated sanitary napkins is exactly like that of the insoles under men's feet,” reads a popular post on Weibo.
Amid this uproar, an investigation of more than 20 different sanitary napkins by Chinese newspaper The Paper found that almost 90% of the products were “shrunk”, measuring at least 10mm less than what was listed on their label. packaging. Most of them contained even shorter absorbent diapers, intended to absorb the menstrual flow.
The newspaper also reports that although national standards for sanitary napkins specify that products can be up to 4% of advertised lengths, they do not specify the length of the absorbent layer of sanitary napkins.
Following a torrent of complaints, authorities announced they were reviewing the current national standard on sanitary napkins, according to local media.
Facing customer inquiries and complaints about the discrepancy in the length of its sanitary napkins, popular Chinese brand ABC has further stoked outrage after its customer service reportedly responded to a complaint by saying “if you can't accept ( the difference in length), then you can choose not to do it. to buy it.
ABC said in a statement in mid-November that it was “deeply sorry” for the “inappropriate” response and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero gap.” Other companies, including Shecare and Beishute, have also apologized.
Chinese state media also weighed in on the controversy, criticizing manufacturers for cutting corners.
“As a daily necessity for women, the quality of sanitary napkins is directly related to the health and comfort of the user,” reads a Xinhua article. “Problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored.”
Sanitary napkins are the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in China, where the market is valued at $13 billion (£10 billion). However, these products have also made headlines over the years due to safety concerns.
In 2016, police dismantled a massive “fake sanitary napkin” operation in southeast China, where millions of sanitary napkins were manufactured in a factory without proper hygiene measures and packaged like popular brands. In 2021, popular feminine hygiene brand Space 7 apologized and promised an investigation after a woman claimed she found a needle in one of its sanitary pads.
The wave of anger also reflects broader grievances felt by women over the quality of products marketed to them.
“Is it so difficult for sanitary napkins to meet women's needs?” reads a trending hashtag on Weibo.
Another trending phrase that has spread amid this blowback sums up the outrage: “Sanitary napkins give away an inch; women give in for a lifetime. »
