(Shari Small/WBZ NewsRadio)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — While thousands of runners made their way through the streets of Boston Monday, one woman’s outfit was getting some extra attention.
Thyme Sullivan dressed as a giant tampon to run the Reebok Boston 10-K for Women.
“I’m running as a super tampon,” she said.
Sullivan is the co-founder of The Organic Project (TOP). She and her business partner—Denielle Finkelstein—are both Boston-area mothers. They left their corporate jobs to launch TOP, which makes organic and biodegradable feminine hygiene products.
TOP told WBZ NewsRadio their goal is to “make clean, organic feminine hygiene products accessible for everyone.”
“There are no chemicals, pesticides, dyes, or fragrances because what you put in and on your body matters more than ever,” Sullivan said.
The company is donating a case of pads and tampons for every team runner at the Reebok Boston 10-K, which will be distributed to “schools in need.”
Sullivan wanted her 10-K costume “to show the world that tampons can do anything.”
According to TOP, people who menstruate use “more than 12,000 tampons” in a lifetime, and the company wants to help put an end to period poverty.
Many lower-income people do not have the money to buy tampons, as that money often goes to feeding their families or themselves. CBS News reports food stamps cannot be used to buy feminine hygiene products, and they are not covered by health insurance.
In 35 states, menstrual products are taxed. This is part of what’s known as the “Pink Tax,” which causes some goods to cost more for women than for men.
The New York Times reported back in July that 22 of those states have considered removing the tax.
Here in New England, Rhode Island has repealed the tax as part of a new state budget. Maine’s legislature passed a bill to repeal the tax, but it died before becoming law.
Massachusetts was one of only five states to eliminate the tampon tax between 1975 and 2005, according to New York Magazine.
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports
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