THINX: An Alternative Menstrual Product That is More Ambitious Than Practical

A line of women’s panties that doubles as feminine pads, THINX aims to be a backup to tampons and menstrual cups.

From an early age, girls across cultures are taught that the vagina is a source of shame and impurity, often with references to religious scripture stating that bodily emissions, like menstrual blood, are ritually polluting. Sanitary napkins are believed to make the female body non-hygienic and odorous, and items like tampons and menstrual cups are deemed taboo because they must be inserted—to some, an act resembling penetration. Puberty is seen as a problem, and the reinforcement of menstrual taboos serves to justify the social exclusion of girls.

To provide context, about 225 million adolescent girls attend 1.37 million schools spread across India; however, roughly 66 percent have no knowledge of menstruation before reaching puberty (UNESCO, 2012). This lack of awareness translates into only 12 percent of women using sanitary pads, with the rest turning towards ash, newspapers, old fabric, and sand for protection—creating susceptibility to infections and disease (AC Nielsen, 2011).

“Women in our culture don’t want to talk about their periods—most still think about it as crass and disgusting,” Miki Agrawal said.

Agrawal, 36, is a former professional soccer player from Montreal, winner of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival Disruptive Innovation Award, a 2013 Forbes Top 20 Millennials on a Mission, and is the founder of Wild, a gluten-free and farm-to-table pizza restaurant in New York City.

With her sister Radha Agrawal, the Agrawals are now out to change the way we deal with menstruation as co-founders of their latest venture, THINX. A line of women’s panties that doubles as feminine pads, THINX aims to be a backup to tampons and menstrual cups. Depending on one’s flow, some choose to wear THINX panties on their own.

The thong is for light days, absorbing up to half a tampon’s worth of menstrual blood; the “cheeky” is for medium days, holding up to one tampon’s worth; and the “hiphugger” is for heavy days, holding up to two tampons worth. Each pair is built with a moisture wicking layer, antimicrobial, leak-resistant fibers, and an absorption layer that is meant to leave the wearer with a dry feeling.

In December, THINX secured “multiple millions” of A-Round funding. The business resembles a buy-one-give-one model—for every pair of THINX sold, a set of seven washable, reusable pads is donated to a girl through Uganda-based AFRIPads, a social enterprise that trains women in developing countries to make and sell reusable sanitary pads at affordable prices.

Furthermore, Agrawal claims that THINX panties can eliminate the landfill waste generated by other feminine products. According to the National Women’s Health Network, each year 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons are dumped into U.S. landfills. But Agrawal has used only THINX panties during her periods over the past year and says that she has made zero carbon impact.

Furthermore, THINX presents a cost-effective model. A single pair can cost between $24 and $47, and a set of seven—which should last the duration of two years—costs about $200. According to Jezebel’s estimates, however, an average woman can spend about $120 per year on tampons and pads plus extra on repeatedly purchasing underwear that is discarded and replaced due to bleed-throughs.

THINX is, indeed, an innovation to the feminine products world. It is clear that this innovative and much needed invention provides three-fold appeal: security from leaks and wetness, comfort and cleanliness in design, and a boost of self-image with their lingerie look. It is no wonder that THINX was the first place winner in The Grommet’s 2013 product pitch competition, “From Home Plate to a Home Run.”

Since the panties went on sale, The Grommet and Reddit are two sites that have been collecting reviews—aptly highlighting both THINX’s philanthropic brilliance, while questioning its usage. But as the THINX word spreads, there are a few outstanding queries to consider:

1. How effective and sanitary really are these panties?

For those with heavy flows, it seems unlikely that just the panty would suffice—some form of a pad, tampon, and/or menstrual cup would still need to be worn, rendering THINX a backup for leaks, making its use identical to the function of normal underwear. As for hygiene, Womanshealth.gov suggests changing pads and tampons at least every four to eight hours—leaving on superabsorbent products for long periods of time can increase women’s risk of exposure to bacteria that can lead to toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Once menstrual blood leaves the body, it gets contaminated with the body’s innate organisms, which can multiply when they remain in a warm and moist place. The sweat from a woman’s genitals then provides a breeding ground for bacteria to grow and cause urinary tract infections, vaginal infections, and skin rashes. Therefore, the warm and enclosed seat of a period panty may actually harbor and proliferate bacteria.

Reddit user fluteitup sums up the confusion around the practical use of THINX:

“It is FAR too hard to understand what their purpose is on your website. Do I wear them on my period? Do they have a removable pad area? Why are these different from reusable pads? Not to mention, do I really want to throw these in with my laundry, they’ll be full of blood. They say they can hold 6 teaspoons of blood—how much is that compared to your average tampon and pad? They’re all black, how do I know if they’re need changing or not? Actually, do I need to change these throughout the day? Because that’s REALLY inconvenient.”

2. Is the cost per panty prohibitive?

As the founders state, on average, a woman throws away 17,000 pads and tampons in her life. From surveys conducted, they also found that women are throwing away anywhere from five to 30 pairs of underwear each year due to bleed-throughs.

At $4 a pair, this could add up to $20-$120 per year. The cost of this wastage on products and underwear is meant to convince the consumer that THINX is more cost-effective and can endure a much longer lifecycle than other constructed products. Moreover, each pair is built to hold up to two tampons or 6 teaspoons of menstrual blood. But at face value, the high price of a single pair of THINX (between $24-$47 each) can scare some away, as these Reddit users point out: “Just to get through one period (let’s say 5 days), and they hold 2 tampons worth of blood each, I’d be wearing one pair all day then another all night, a fresh pair in the morning, etc. I’m not going to keep doing laundry and I also have no interest in hand washing my own bloody underwear in a shared sink so I’d need like 9-10 pairs potentially. I’m not spending $266 (two 5-day cycle packs) on panties I only wear one week of the month,” xcarex stated.

“How do you justify charging $24 for a pair of knickers that are to be worn only five days a month? I thought these would be knickers dyed not to show stains, which makes much more sense to me. Your product is far too much like a nappy. I would prefer a set of washable cloth pads as opposed to squishing around in literally bloody knickers,” CarlvonLinne pointed out.

“I second the ‘6tsp – how cute’ remark. These just don’t seem realistic for ladies with a heavier flow. I can’t even use a diva cup for more than a few hours without serious leaking, so I couldn’t imagine using these as a feasible replacement for my backup pad, even with the menstrual cup. I would consider getting one pair just to try out, because I think it’s an interesting idea in theory, but it’s not worth trying if I lose $24 when it doesn’t end up working out for me,” computerkid lamented.

3. Given THINX’s purpose and lacy look, to whom should the panties be marketed?

Firstly, although THINX is worded as a replacement or backup product for normal period products, depending on one’s preference, it is probable that THINX panties could even serve the purpose of women struggling with menopause, vaginal discharge, and bladder leakages. On The Grommet Launch Conversation and Reddit pages, women have noted this dual usage and yet, at the same time, have scorned at THINX’s resemblance to a diaper.

Grommet user Zenzele-Leandria said, “This product is fabulous!! Where can we purchase the reusable pads that you are sending to Africa? I am interested in purchasing those also. Your price is great. Gonna try due to menopause, these might be great with perspiring and discharge problems during this time of life. Thank you for your creation.”

Another Grommet user, Maggie, said, “I love this! I recently had surgery to correct a leaky bladder, but this could have saved me big time. I’ll be thrilled to have these for those period days now. I love what you do for women across the globe. And I love that you save the thong version for women and not for teens on your own website. Kudos! A great idea and great implementation.”

“Sticking lace on it doesn’t disguise the fact it basically functions as an adult nappy (diaper),” stated Reddit user emabel.

Secondly, while the lingerie look was implemented with good intention to boost women’s confidence, comfort, and appeal despite literally functioning as period panties, the lace does not suit all women or all ages. It instills a hyper-femininity to the “delicate” female-gender stereotype that many have long been trying to escape.

Reddit User fluteitup expressed this frustration: “Also when I’m on my period, the LAST thing I want is fancy, lacy, uncomfortable panties. But that’s just me. I’m just saying nothing about this feels like the inventor has ever had a period…”

Lastly, THINX’s “About Us” states an admirable mission upon which the company’s model does not currently operate:

“Thinx is committed to breaking the taboo surrounding menstruation. We see a world where no woman is held back by her body. We will work proudly and tirelessly until every single girl has an equal opportunity for the brighter future she deserves. By reimagining feminine hygiene products to provide support, comfort, confidence, and peace of mind, we aim to eliminate shame, empowering women and girls around the world.”

While an excellent aspiration, THINX’s present charitable model and partnership with social enterprise AFRIpads is not quite built on a buy-one-give-one structure. Girls in developing contexts, for now piloting in Uganda, do not receive THINX, but instead a donation of seven reusable, washable sanitary pads upon each underwear purchase.

Is THINX, then, made to be effective and exclusively available only to women in developed contexts? How is this a model of “equal opportunity?” Of course, this underscores that the design and success of menstrual hygiene products will differ based on sociocultural and economic circumstance.

THINX is not yet for “every single girl,” but the Agrawals are on the right track with the giving and teaching of sanitary products through worldwide partners like AFRIpads. It is pure fact that menstruation is a biological life cycle affecting every female starting as early as age 9 for an average of one week, each month. Do the math, and that is about 450 menstrual cycles per lifetime. Breaking the silence is the very least that we should do. Period.