U.S. stores experience tampon shortage, 1 company blames comedian Amy Schumer

published 13 June 2022

Many shoppers have had trouble finding tampons in U.S. stores lately, and tampon makers say the national shortage is due to supply chain issues. The problem "stems from a combination of factory staffing challenges, transportation bottlenecks, and the rising costs of key raw materials used to make the products," NPR notes.

A CVS pharmacy spokesperson confirmed to NPR that suppliers haven't been able to fulfill orders lately, adding that other stores including Target and Walgreens were also dealing with a limited tampon supply.

Some brands have also been seeing an increase in demand for some time now. Procter & Gamble, the parent company of Tampax, told Time it saw a 7.7 percent increase in demand since 2020. The company attributed the surge to the success of an ad campaign that year with comedian Amy Schumer. As the New York Post points out, though, "other brands of tampons ... are also in short supply, and they don't have an Emmy winner and Tony nominee to blame."

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Kelsee Majette has worked as a social media editor at The Week since 2022. In 2019, she got her start in local television as a digital producer and fill-in weather reporter at NTV News. Kelsee also co-produced a lifestyle talk show while working in Nebraska and later transitioned to 13News Now as a digital content producer.

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