Thinx period underwear settles class action lawsuit over possibly causing ... trends now
Thinx, the leading period underwear manufacturer, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it uses dangerous chemicals for a whopping $4million.
A group of women from California, Massachusetts, Florida and Delaware originally filed the suit in May 2022, alleging that Thinx executives 'knew or should have known' there were polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and metals right near the crotch of its underwear.
These 'forever chemicals' could be absorbed through the skin, the suit filed in the United States Southern District of New York claims, and could cause fertility issues and cancers in high quantities.
And the metals in the underwear could also put women at an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, with one plaintiff even reporting that she developed bacterial vaginosis — a type of vaginal inflammation — after wearing the underwear regularly.
Thinx continues to deny these claims, but has agreed to reimburse anyone who has bought the period underwear between November 12, 2016 to November 28, 2022.
It has repeatedly claimed its underwear is 'organic and non-toxic.'
Thinx Underwear has agreed to to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it uses dangerous chemicals for a whopping $4million
Questions about the chemicals in Thinx Underwear first started to emerge in January 2020 following a report by the Sierra Club, which sent a nuclear scientist two pairs of the underwear to test.
Jessian Choy wrote in the Sierra magazine at the time that she sent the pairs to Dr. Graham Peaslee, a nuclear scientist at the University of Notre Dame.
He found that the unused pairs of period underwear had thousands of parts per million of PFAs located right in the crotch area.
The adult version had 3,264 parts per million, while the one advertised for teenagers had 2,053 parts per million. The chemicals are prohibited in certain products over 100 ppm, under the Environmental Protection Agency standards,
Peaslee also found, using a particle-induced gamma ray emission spectroscopy, that there were tens of hundreds of parts per million of copper on the inside of the crotch and zinc on both sides.
These chemicals have been found to cause negative health effects like decreased fertility and increased risks of cancer.
And the metals found in the underwear in an apparent effort to prevent leaking could be absorbed through the skin and even into the bloodstream.
In the years that followed, women who were dismayed by the findings filed a series of lawsuits throughout the country culminating in the class action suit last spring.
It argues that Thinx misled women about the potential harms of its period underwear.
As the lawyers for the five women named in the suit write: 'Through its uniform, widespread nationwide advertising campaign, Defendant has led consumers to believe that Thinx Underwear is a safe, healthy and sustainable choice for women, and that it is free of harmful chemicals.
'In reality, Thinx Underwear contains harmful chemicals, including multiple polyfluoroalkyl substances and silver nanoparticles, which are a safety hazard to the female body and the environment.
'Thinx's misbranding is intentional, and it renders the Thinx Underwear worthless or [of] less value.'
Jessian Choy, of the Sierra Club, left, sent two pairs of Thinx Underwear to Dr. Graham Peaslee, a nuclear scientist at the University of Notre Dame. He found that the unused pairs of period underwear had thousands of parts per million of PFAs located right in the crotch area
Thinx was founded in 2011 by Miki Agrawal, advertising itself as a 'safe comfortable and sustainable options for people with periods and bladder links'
Thinx was founded in 2011 by Miki Agrawal 'with the purported mission of empowering women by providing "safe, comfortable and sustainable options for people with periods and bladder links," the lawsuit says.
