Beijing

Chinese women are up in arms against sanitary pad makers in the country, claiming that the length of the pads is less than advertised. This came after social media videos showing women measuring the pads from popular brands went viral. Most of them were found to be short of the promised length.

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The companies are now apologising for scrimping on the material after women across the country were angered to see an important feminine hygiene product being compromised. 

One of the videos posted on the social media platform Xiaohongshu on November 3 shows Chinese women checking nine brands of sanitary pads with a measuring tape. All of them were found to be shorter than the length stated on their packaging.

"Will cutting a few centimetres help you strike it rich?," the user who posted the video wrote.

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The post soon triggered widespread outrage, with women accusing sanitary pad makers of cheating them.

This anger led Chinese news outlet The Paper to examine over 20 different sanitary pads. Their results were shocking, with nearly 90 per cent of the pads much smaller and measuring at least 10 mm shorter than what was promised on the packaging. 

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Absorbent layers also compromised

The length wasn't the only problem. The investigation also found that the absorbent layers were even shorter.

The publication reported that, as per national standards, sanitary pads can measure within four per cent of advertised lengths. There was also no specified length for the absorbent layer in the sanitary pads. 

However, authorities said they were revising the current national standard on sanitary pads, according to local media. 

Anger boiled over when the customer service of popular Chinese brand ABC, faced with complaints about sanitary pad lengths, reportedly told people that "if you cannot accept [the length difference] then you can choose not to buy it".

The company later issued a statement in mid-November, saying it was "deeply sorry" for the "inappropriate" response. It further promised to improve its products to achieve "zero deviation". Other companies also issued similar apologies.

Chinese state media also criticised manufacturers for delivering poorly.

"As a daily necessity for women, quality of sanitary pads is directly related to the health and comfort of the user," reads a Xinhua article. "The problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored."