Toxic Tampons

 

It’s time to come clean: people with periods are trapped in a toxic relationship with their tampons. Toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, PFAS, lead, mercury, and toluene have been found in tampons and other menstrual products across the US. What’s worse, menstruators spend up to 84,000 hours actively on their period, unknowingly absorbing these harmful chemicals over decades of their lives. 
 

An image of an aerosol can in the shape of a tampon with dead bugs on a wooden floor around it. Text overlay reads "If you knew what your tampons were really made of, it would make your skin crawl."
An image of an ashtray with a tampon resting against the side of the tray. Text overlay reads "If you knew what your tampons were really made of, it would take your breath away."
An image of three tampons strapped together to resemble an explosive device with text overlay that reads "If you knew what your tampons were really made of, it would blow your mind."

When we discovered these same chemicals are also in cigarettes, pesticides, and even dynamite, we created an explosive campaign to expose Big Tampon’s big secret, with visually shocking ads that confronted people with the truth. Partnering with NY-based advocacy group Clean + Healthy, we took our campaign to the state capital of Albany, activating students and pushing policymakers to put an end to this toxic relationship.   

The campaign, which intersected with the public, corporate brands, and policymakers helped champion the ultimate impact: a bill banning these chemicals unanimously passing in the NY Senate and on track to eventually become law.