Tampon manufacturers and suppliers are running to meet a higher demand, which could be the next supply shortage the healthcare industry faces, according to Time.
P&G, the manufacturer of the nation's most popular tampon brand, Tampax, is struggling to gather enough raw materials for the 7.7 percent sales increase over the last two years, a P&G spokesperson told Time.
Shoppers faced a 9.8 percent hike in tampon costs so far this year as plastics and cotton prices soared 9.5 percent and 40 percent, respectively, Bloomberg reported June 9.
"In terms of the speed of the increase, it's the sharpest I've ever seen," consultant Pricie Hanna told Bloomberg. "At this point, people are scratching their heads and saying, 'This is something new.'"