Fear has long been a tool in advertising, and the period care industry is no exception.
For generations, we've been led to believe that menstruation is something to hide, control, or even sanitize. Think about the old Lysol ads promoting vaginal douching, or today’s alarming headlines about toxic tampons. Underneath all of this is a deeper issue: shame. That shame tells us to fear our bodies, to hush up about something completely natural.
But we want to change the story.
Radical Transparency and Being Different on Purpose
Fear-based marketing isn’t our style. Instead, one of our core values is radical transparency. We think it’s important to not only know the ingredients in your period care, but also what those ingredients are. As they say, knowledge is power. You might not throw a party when it’s that time of the month, but you can feel empowered with the info you need to make decisions for your body. That’s bodily agency and we’re here for it.
A while back, a study came out about toxins in tampons, and it caused quite the stir. There was and continues to be a lot of fear-based marketing around this. While our pads and tampons are certified organic, it was important to us as a brand to not jump on these types of marketing bandwagons.
When a study like this comes out, we look at the facts because they provide perspective. Is it concerning that lead and arsenic were found in tampons? Of course! The study raised valid concerns about the need for more testing and better industry oversight. However, many brands used the study to incite fear, even though the chemical levels found were within the therapeutic window—meaning they were at low levels known to be non-toxic for human use.
Still not convinced? Your bottled water contains more toxins than your tampons—so don't toss them out just yet. Literally everything that comes out of the ground has chemicals and even organic products that use materials that come from the soil, whether organic or not, will have chemicals. But the levels are not all toxic. We always suggest looking for certifications to ensure that the therapeutic window for the product that you are using has been considered, such as B Corp, Dermatest, Ecocert, USDA Organic, and OEKO-TEX 100.
At joni, our pads and tampons carry all of these certifications, so you can trust that they’re safe. But we’re also not going to slam the big-name tampon brands because our mission is to drive menstrual equity forward and that starts with the period care that you have access to.
The facts are that the study doesn’t prove that tampons are bad or that certain brands are bad, what it does is highlight the need for MORE research in menstrual health and until then, it’s not right to shame anyone using the period care that they can afford.
Marketing and Shame
Fear grows when we’re silent. A big part of why fear-based marketing works in the period care industry is because of the shame that still surrounds menstruation. But when brands stoke the fire of fear or claim that their products are better, it’s a red flag and it sets back period equity because it takes away our choices and now we’re making fear based decisions and that’s never a good place to be. Marketing can help with talking about periods openly and we believe that’s how we can influence policies and garner support for accessible period care.
Periods can be annoying, painful, just another part of life, or something to celebrate. By sharing our experiences, we can help each other out. It’s a way to normalize the conversation and learn from one another.
Real Period Stories: We’re Doubling Down
We believe so strongly that sharing our period stories means we can build stronger, more understanding communities that allow people who menstruate access to the healthcare they need and find support. Sometimes this can be a matter of life or death. What is possible when we make space for every story, every experience, and support each other along the way? We’re here to explore that, because when we come together, we not only learn from one another, but we also make sure that no one feels like they have to handle it alone.
Less marketing. More community.
Whatever your period story is, it matters.
Are you ready to talk? Want to impact fear mongering? Share your period story for joni’s Book on Periods.