The fabulous $3 organic tampons that dare not speak their name

In July, Mic introduced readers to Brandless, a company on a mission to save consumers money through the elimination of what they call “brand tax,” or, according to Brandless co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey, “the hidden costs you pay for a national brand, often assorted with production and retailer margin.”

From cruelty-free lip balm and shave gel to gluten-free pancake mix and toilet bowl cleaner, Brandless was taking beauty, personal care, food and homeware goods, and selling them all for one flat rate of $3. Now they’re extending their offering by launching wellness goods, beginning Wednesday.

Though the new category launches include multivitamins, wrapped pads, panty liners, facial tissues and more, its the organic tampons that offer the best value compared to the standard market price.

“Many women in this country don’t have easy access to organic feminine hygiene products” Sharkey said in an email. “We believe everyone deserves access to better, so we added organic cotton tampons, pads and panty liners. With a significant brand tax savings — up to 75% less than organic tampons of similar quality to ours, for example — we’re making organic feminine hygiene affordable as well as accessible.”

Brandless

Though retailers do not make it easy to calculate the per-unit price (otherwise it would be far easier to shop economically), a bit of digging around can help convey just how affordable these tampons really are.

For comparison, Brandless sells 10 organic cotton tampons for $3, which comes out to 30 cents per tampon. The Honest Company’s organic cotton tampons are $6.95 for 16 tampons, which too comes out to 43 cents per tampon while Lola, a subscription-based service, sells its subscription organic cotton tampons for $10 per 18 tampons, which comes out to 55 cents per tampon.

“We face the same primary challenge in wellness that we face in food, personal care and home: creating high-quality products at an accessible price,” Sharkey explained. “Taking brand tax out of a category as vital as wellness was really important to us. Making a month’s supply of vegan supplements available for less than the cost of a latte, for example, is something we hope makes it possible for everyone to afford to make wellness products part of their everyday essentials.”

In addition to tampons, Brandless’ new line of wellness includes multivitamins, organic cotton-wrapped pads, panty liners, facial tissues and more.