Period Poverty
The limited or inadequate access to menstrual products or menstrual health education as a result of financial constraints or negative socio-cultural stigmas associated with menstruation.
NEW: State of the Period 2025
Commissioned by Thinx & PERIOD. (October 2025)
Nearly 1 in 4 students struggle to afford period products in the United States.
39% of teens feel unable to do their best schoolwork due to lack of access to period products
Nearly 6 in 10 teens (59%) feel personally affected by negative associations of menstruation.
37% of teens feel more confident using an AI chatbot than a tampon.
Breaking the Period Product Insecurity Cycle
Women's Health Journal (2024)
This study focuses on the outcomes of providing free period products, led by researchers at the Alliance for Period Supplies and National Diaper Bank Network.
The results include information on households and recipients, period product preferences, annual spending on disposable period products, experiences of period product insecurity including missed days of participation, emotions/stress, and outcomes of having access to period products.
State of the Period 2023
Commissioned by Thinx & PERIOD. (October 2023)
Nearly 1 in 4 students have struggled to afford period products in the United States.
44% of teens report stress and embarrassment due to a lack of access to period products.
92% of teens agree periods should be recognized as an indicator of good health rather than as something dirty or gross – a 7-point increase from 2021.
78% of teens agree education around menstrual health should be part of the core curriculum, just like math.
Additional Research Studies
Period poverty and its reach across the US
Brookings
NEW:Menarche and Time to Cycle Regularity
Apple Women's Health & HarvardFree Period Products in Schools
Alliance for Period SuppliesThe homeless period: a qualitative evidence synthesis
Taylor & Francis OnlineUsing Models of Menstrual Experience to Increase Impact
Irise InternationalImpact on Low-Income Women
College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis UniversityThe effects of COVID-19 have made it more difficult for lower income and minority women to afford period products when compared to 2018
U by KotexThe situation for US women post Roe v. Wade
Flo HealthImpact on Mental Health
BMC Women's HealthMenstruation and Menopause at Work
Women's Bureau: U.S. Department of LaborCrampus Campaign Survey Results - 2023
PERIOD.