Empower Women, Period.
Updated: Mar 5, 2021
Imagine that every month, you have the hiccups for a whole week. And during that week every time you hiccup, you’re supposed to pay a “hiccup supplies” fee. You always feel as if you’re not supposed to talk about the hiccups that you, and half of the population, have to deal with every month. As a matter of fact you’re told, in quiet whispers, it is a luxury to have those hiccups. Now, replace those hiccups with a period, and welcome to reality. Did you know that period products are considered luxury items?
According to the ACLU, in 33 states feminine hygiene products are classified as luxury goods and are not exempt from sales tax. In California, we’ve removed this tax, but only until the end of 2021.
Merriam-Webster defines a luxury as “something adding to pleasure or comfort, but not absolutely necessary.” Hmm… something doesn’t sound right here. As women ourselves, we have a hard time considering a tampon as pleasurable as a tropical vacation or a Louis Vuitton bag. We think its safe to say that during that time of the month, having access to feminine hygiene products is one-thousand-percent a necessity.
Look, we get it. No one wants to talk about the natural process that occurs monthly for women. Think about how those women feel who can’t even afford to purchase pads or tampons, even though they are a necessity. Not talking about it is a luxury, and it is important to take this stigma away.
The programs put in place to support women and children (WIC and SNAP), still somehow exclude feminine hygiene products. Not only that, women can actually be prosecuted for trading these credits for necessary period products. Sounds crazy, but also a little familiar. Similarly, there are 36 states that have legalized medicinal cannabis, and 15 states that have legalized recreational cannabis. That means that while in California we are lucky to have an industry where we can legally purchase cannabis products, there are still US citizens in other states that are left out and can go to jail for trying to do the same. Wow.
As an all-women company and members of the cannabis industry since the days when only medicinal weed was legal, we are no strangers to standing up for what we believe in. Whether it’s ch