How period care brands are responding to Florida bill that would restrict sex education

Period care brands have begun responding to legislation that, if signed into law, would restrict Florida’s public school teachers from educating students about the menstrual cycle before sixth grade, though for now, bigger players in the industry have largely remained silent. The bill advanced at a Florida House Education Quality Subcommittee vote last week and is on its way to a vote on the state’s House floor. Direct-to-consumer brands Stix and August have come out against the ban on various social media platforms. More traditional companies in the category have yet to publicly acknowledge the potential legislation. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Thinx, a period underwear company, hasn’t posted on TikTok or Instagram about the Florida legislation as of this writing, but CEO Meghan Davis shared her thoughts on LinkedIn. Davis cited Thinx’s “State of the Period” study, which found that “the school environment is already a difficult place to have a period, with 70% of students saying ‘the school environment makes them especially self-conscious of their periods.’” The House bill “up for vote in Florida would not only prohibit instruction about menstruation to students prior to sixth grade, but forbids any discussion whatsoever about periods during the school day. Needless to say, this would be a step backwards,” Davis wrote. Vaginal health company Stix, which sells DTC products from pregnancy tests to period liners, took to Instagram with a post addressing the pending legislation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stix (@getstix) Its caption described what the bill would do, then noted that “sexual education is already subpar, to say the least, in this country and this bill will make it even worse,” and that “even if a student gets their period before 6th grade, they would be prohibited from having a conversation about it.” August, which sells tampons and pads, posted about the bill on multiple social media platforms. On Geneva, a messaging app for communities and groups, August is hosting conversations about the bill with its roughly 400 Geneva group members, some of whom are Florida-based, according to August CEO and co-founder Nadya Okamoto. The conversations on Geneva drive home the idea that “we’re about more than just selling tampons and pads,” according to Okamoto. @itsaugustco Are You There Florida GOP? Its Me, Margaret. #OnMyPeriod #Florida #HouseBill #HB1069 #AreYouThereGod #ItsMeMargaret ♬ original sound - soundeffectarchive On Instagram and TikTok, August posted educational content explaining what the Florida bill would do if passed into law, and calling for its community to speak out against the bill. One of August’s Instagram slides states: “First periods can happen as young as 8 years old. Shouldn’t those kids be prepared ahead of time to avoid any shock when they see blood in their underwear for the first time?” Imagery in the red Instagram slides includes half-unwrapped August-brand tampons and boxes of its products. View this post on Instagram A post shared by August (@itsaugust) Okamoto said that the brand’s politically oriented posts typically perform better than its product-focused content, but sometimes not as well as its memes. “When we post things like this, we often lose followers,” Okamoto said in an interview, explaining that some people don’t like it when brands talk about “political things.” But, as a business, she said posts like this end up heightening brand loyalty, too. Staying silent Large retail-focused period care brands such as Tampax and U by Kotex haven’t posted on their respective Instagram or TikTok accounts about the Florida bill as of this writing. Tampax, owned by Procter & Gamble, and U by Kotex, owned by Kimberly-Clark, did not immediately respond to Ad Age’s requests for comment. One DTC period product brand, Cora, also hasn’t posted about the Florida bill on social media—yet. Cora is tracking where the bill goes from here before acting, said Dana Cohen, its chief marketing officer. As the bill moves along, if it seems like it’s going to become a law, “I think that's probably when we would start to take more action,” she continued. Brands for years have wrestled with weighing in on political issues. Some data suggests it pays off—the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer reports that 63% of consumers said they buy or advocate for brands based on their beliefs and values. However, new research from GfK’s Purpose Impact Monitor suggests that people generally don’t make strong connections between brands and a positive impact on social issues.Read more: Purpose marketing isn't resonating with consumers Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here

How period care brands are responding to Florida bill that would restrict sex education

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