Thinx Memo

To: CEO, Thinx

From: Maura Dompkouski, Brooke Russo, & Abby Willis; Simmons College
Date: May 8, 2017
RE: Corporate Social Responsibility Recommendations

Company Background and Overview

Thinx is an American company that makes underwear that can be worn during
menstruation. The company was created by Miki Agrawal, Radha Agrawal, and Antonia
Saint Dunbar in 2011 as a result of personal experiences during menstruation, as well as
the issue of women in developing countries not having access to feminine hygiene
products. Thinx underwear contains technology that makes them moisture-wicking,
antimicrobial, absorbent and leak resistant. The company currently has about 30 team
members. They are headquartered in New York City and currently ship nationally and
internationally.

Competitors:

Thinx’s major competitor is Dear Kate, another period-proof underwear brand. Dear Kate
offers customers $15 when they refer a friend. The friend also receives $15 towards their
first purchase. Prices for the underwear are comparable to that of Thinx, in the $30-$40
range.

Outside of period-proof underwear, Thinx also competes with other feminine hygiene
products including:
● Pads
■ Bad for the environment
■ Uncomfortable
● Tampons
■ Bad for the environment
■ Chemicals enter your body
■ Less of an inconvenience than pads
● Diva Cups
■ 12 hours, no leaks
■ No plastic
■ Sustainable
■ Reusable
■ Saves money
 Thinx Memo

Supply Chain:

Thinx underwear is produced in a family-run factory in Sri Lanka. The factory provides
education and training for female employees in order to empower them and encourage
them to become leaders. Each pair of Thinx underwear purchased contributes to
AFRIPads, a Uganda-based company that trains women to produce and sell reusable
sanitary pads.

CSR Initiatives
● Partnership with AFRIPads: For every pair of underwear purchased, Thinx donates seven
reusable sanitary pads for women in a developing country. This is done through a
Uganda-based company called AFRIPads. This partnership helps the company grow,
creating more jobs for women in Uganda, and lowering the cost of the product which
allows the company to provide women with affordable pads. Through the partnership,
Thinx has provided 60 thousand girls with menstrual products, helped AFRIPads grow
their company from 25 to over 175 employees.
● THINX Foundation was created in January 2017. Their first initiative is the THINX
Global Girls Club, in which they created a six-month curriculum to educate girls ages 12
to 18 about their bodies, menstrual products, self-defense, financial literacy, and
entrepreneurship. Each pair of Thinx underwear purchased directly funds the THINX
Global Girls Club.
● Thinx publishes a weekly newsletter called “This Week in Feminism” which includes
articles that focus on empowering women.

Extractive v.s. Generative?

Thinx as a company is almost fully generative. They are trying to familiarize the world
with the idea of menstruation and give sanitary pads to women in developing countries
when a pair of underwear are bought. Thinx also has Thinx Foundation, which aims to
educate girls and women around the world about their bodies, financial literacy, and their
entrepreneurial potential. They partner with local organizations throughout the world to
do this. A generative company is one that tries to give back and help society. However,
Thinx is not fully generative. They need to focus on what is happening inside the
company as well as outside of the company. Developing stricter policies about helping
people inside and outside of the company are necessary. Thinx must focus on fulfilling
their value of female empowerment within the company by educating their employees in
order to eliminate discrimination and create a comfortable environment. The company
should also focus on their employees by involving them in important decisions, such as
ways to become a fully generative company.
 Thinx Memo

To B or Not To B?

Thinx is not yet a Certified B Corporation. In 2015, Thinx stated that it was moving from
a C-Corp to a Public Benefit Corporation. However, this is not the same as a Certified B
Corp. In order to become a B Corp, Thinx would have to take the time to sit down and
go through the three steps in becoming a B Corp. However, beyond this, Thinx would
have to commit to being socially and environmentally aware, and become more
transparent. This links back to the governance of Thinx and meeting the United Nations
fifth goal of gender equality.

Governance:
Board of Directors
● Investors
● Partnership with AFRIPads
● THINX Foundation: THINX Global Girls Club
● Committed to lowering carbon footprint by using reusable products

Environmental Impact:

Thinx has a goal to reduce menstrual waste, including pads and tampons. According to
the CEO of Thinx, “Twenty billion plastic tampon applicators, pads, and menstrual
products end up in a landfill every single year” (The Taboo Trifecta). In order to prevent
this, Thinx has created their underwear for women to be able to use for 2-3 years. In
addition, Thinx has created a reusable tampon applicator, also known as RETA. They
also sell 100% organic cotton tampons, which are better for the environment. However,
Thinx has been asked about their underwear and if it is really helping the environment
due to the amount of washing in hot water women will have to do to keep the underwear
clean. Thinx has yet to come up with a definite response to this question, but typically
saying that although women will have to wash in hot water, it is less harmful than
throwing away menstrual products.

New Vocabulary:

1. Period Taboo: Thinx is trying to encourage women and society to be more comfortable
with the discussion surrounding periods. They want to end the “taboo” behind periods
and talk of the female reproductive system and its functions. (Source: Thinx website)
2. Pussypack: This is a product offered by Thinx. It is their spinoff of the “fanny pack.”
Thinx explains on their website that “fanny” is a slang term used in the United
Kingdom in place of the word “vagina.” Thinx is definitely catching attention with this
clever product name. (Source: Thinx website)
 Thinx Memo

3. Patriarchy-Proof: This is a term that Thinx uses to describe their underwear. “Fighting
the patriarchy” is one of the missions that Thinx has through normalizing the female
anatomy and combatting sexism and the oppression of women in society.

Ceres Roadmap

Governance: Thinx is strongly lacking with governance. This is a major area in need of
improvement. Refer to the prior comments made about Thinx’s governance.

Stakeholder engagement: Thinx needs to improve its stakeholder engagement, especially

with its employees who are a valuable asset to the company. Thinx needs to take
feedback from their employees and find ways to better their company in its treatment of
workers.

Disclosure: Thinx must disclose where they went wrong if they want to revamp their
image and improve credibility. Admitting that they went wrong is the best course of
action. This will allow Thinx a second chance to be the patriarchy-fighting company that
it promises to be.

Performance: Thinx must improve its treatment of workers and reform its company from
the inside-out. Thinx could also work on sustainability, as tampons are still necessary
with the period-proof underwear.
Supply Chain- source of materials and fair payment
Transportation and Logistics- made overseas
Product- sustainable materials, cutting costs
Employees- treatment, living wage, combatting discrimination

A Proposal:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality (#5)

One of Thinx’s main focuses is to empower women and eliminate the period taboo. However, it
was recently revealed that the company has had issues with “un-feminist practices.” Former
employees of Thinx have accused the company of “substandard pay, verbal abuse and sexual
harassment,” including “unwanted physical contact” from one of the founders, Miki Agrawal
(Tokumitsu, 2017). A former employee named Chelsea Leibow claimed that, although Thinx’s
staff is mostly women, the only employees who successfully negotiated higher salaries were
men. It seemed like many of Thinx’s employees tolerated disrespectful and unfair treatment
because they believed the company was “dedicated to a just cause.” Thinx can address
Sustainable Development Goal #5 - Gender Equality by taking the following actions:
● Make feminism and women empowerment a main value within the company
 Thinx Memo

● Create programs to educate their employees at all levels to eliminate discrimination

● Take responsibility for actions and correct mistakes
○ Encourage open discussions in order to solve issues
● Become a fully generative company
○ Ask employees for opinions/recommendations
○ Focus on creating a better atmosphere for employees
 Thinx Memo

Works Cited

50 Reasons to Diva. (2017, March 20). Retrieved April 27, 2017, from
http://divacup.com/2016/50-reasons-to-diva/

Foundation, T. (2017). THINX. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.thinx.org/

Noreen Malone Follow @noreenmalone. (2016, February 02). Miki Agrawal's Panty Raid.
Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/01/thinx-miki-agrawal-c-v-r.html

Pastorek, W. (2013, December 11). How The Team Behind Thinx Created One Of The Sexiest
Ways To Give Back. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from
https://www.fastcompany.com/3020787/change-generation/how-the-team-behind-thinx-created-
one-of-the-sexiest-ways-to-give-back

Thinx. (2017). About us. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from https://www.shethinx.com/pages/about-
us/

Tokumitsu, M. (2017, March 23). What a Start-Up’s Scandal Says About Your Workplace.
Retrieved April 22, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/opinion/thinx-what-a-
startups-scandal-says-about-your-workplace.html