In one of the earliest videos, posted on 3 November, a user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu examined nine brands of sanitary pads with a measuring tape, showing that they all fell short of the length stated on their packaging.
“Will cutting a few centimetres help you strike it rich?” the user wrote in her video.
The revelations soon ignited widespread criticism, with consumers accusing sanitary pad makers of being deceitful.
“The inflated sanitary pad length is just like the insoles under men’s feet,” reads one popular Weibo post.
Amid the uproar, an investigation of over 20 different sanitary pads by Chinese news outlet The Paper found that nearly 90% of the products were “shrunken”, measuring at least 10mm shorter than claimed on their packaging. Tucked within most of them were even shorter absorbent layers, which are meant to soak up menstrual flow.
The Paper also reported that while national standards for sanitary pads specify that the products can measure within 4% of advertised lengths, they do not specify the length of the absorbent layer in sanitary pads.
Following a torrent of complaints, authorities said they were revising the current national standard on sanitary pads, according to local media.
Met with enquiries and complaints from customers about the discrepancy in its sanitary pad lengths, the popular Chinese brand ABC further stoked outrage after its customer service reportedly responded to a complaint by saying “if you cannot accept [the length difference] then you can choose not to buy it”.
ABC said in a statement in mid-November that it was “deeply sorry” for the “inappropriate” response, and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero deviation”. Other companies including Shecare and Beishute have also issued apologies.
Chinese state media has also weighed in on the controversy, criticising manufacturers for cutting corners.
“As a daily necessity for women, quality of sanitary pads is directly related to the health and comfort of the user,” reads a Xinhua article. “The problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored.”
Sanitary pads are the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in China, where the market is valued at $13bn (£10bn). However, the products have also made headlines over the years for safety issues.
In 2016, police busted a massive “fake sanitary towel” operation in southeast China, where millions of sanitary pads were manufactured in a factory without proper hygiene measures and packaged as popular brands. In 2021, popular feminine hygiene brand Space 7 apologised and vowed an investigation after a woman claimed she found a needle in one of its sanitary pads.
The wave of anger also reflects broader grievances felt by women over the quality of products meant for them.
“Is it that hard for sanitary pads to tackle women’s needs?” reads a trending hashtag on Weibo.
Another trending phrase that has caught on amid the blowback encapsulates the outrage: “Sanitary pads yield a centimetre; women yield for a lifetime.”