Chinese companies apologise after outrage over shorter sanitary pads
Chinese women demand accountability after sanitary pad scandal exposes false size claims
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Your support makes all the difference.Several Chinese brands have apologised to women in the country after it was found that their sanitary pads were often smaller than advertised.
Earlier this month, viral videos and investigations revealed discrepancies between listed and actual pad lengths, with some products being at least 10mm shorter, the local media said.
After the scandal, amplified by the hashtag “sanitary pad length fraud” on Weibo, Chinese women are now demanding accurate labelling for the usable absorbent length of the pads.
An investigation by the Chinese outlet The Paper earlier found that nearly 90 per cent of sanitary pads were at least 10mm shorter than advertised, with even smaller absorbent layers inside.
While national standards allow a 4 per cent size discrepancy, they don’t regulate absorbent layer lengths.
In one viral clip, an influencer measured the absorbent pads inside products from top Chinese brands, including ABC, revealing that the listed sizes on the packaging reflect total pad lengths, not the usable absorbent area.
In an early video posted on 3 November on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, a user measured nine sanitary pad brands with a tape measure, revealing that all were shorter than the lengths stated on their packaging.
Earlier this month, ABC said in a statement that it was “deeply sorry” and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero deviation”. Other brands like Shecare and Beishute have also issued public apologies.
Following the widespread outrage, authorities announced plans to revise national standards on sanitary pads.
ABC had also earlier fuelled further outrage when its customer service dismissively told a complainant to “choose not to buy” if they were unhappy with length discrepancies. The brand later apologised for the “inappropriate” response.
“Sanitary pads are already incredibly expensive, and now they’re even falsifying the length,” read one post on Weibo. “Do these people have no morals, trying to make money off women like this?”
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