Dive Brief:
- Seeking to eliminate a societal taboo, intimates brand Knix and soccer legend Megan Rapinoe are teaming up to pay athletes to talk about their periods while competing in sports.
- Knix's Sport Your Period initiative will pay eligible athletes up to $2,000 to openly discuss their periods and the sport they play, with a goal of shattering the stigma associated with that, according to a company press release.
- Knix and Rapinoe have created a marketing video where the former Olympic champion talks about her own experiences of playing while on her period. A survey of 300 athletes revealed that 99% of them have competed on their period at an international competition, while 75% had a fear of leaking while competing.
Dive Insight:
Knix is encouraging athletes competing on a national or global level through Nov. 1 to share their experiences. Speaking publicly can be done through press conferences, accredited media interviews or on personal social media platforms.
“There have been countless times where I've scored game-changing goals and never ever mentioned that I was on my period. Yet 1 in 2 teens drop out of sports because of their periods and I can say that even at the highest level there is still stigma,” Rapinoe said in a statement. “Athletes should not feel ashamed to talk about their periods and I'm looking forward to changing the narrative this summer and breaking open this conversation with Knix."
Knix was founded in 2013 and became a leading brand of leakproof underwear and related clothing for women. Its decision to pay athletes to speak publicly about playing while on their periods was a logical one for the company.
"The facts are simple, women often get paid less to participate in sports, and compete while managing their periods. So why not pay them to talk about it?” Joanna Griffiths, founder and president of Knix, said in a statement. “It's staggering to see the impact that periods have in sports and yet unless we see a visceral image of a marathon runner bleeding through her shorts, or an entire industry rebelling against wearing white it's not something that is spoken about.”
Knix has partnered with other celebrities recently as a way to launch new products. Actor Gabrielle Union became a global ambassador for the brand in March, and in April the actor modeled the company’s new Sexy Mesh capsule collection.
A sale of the company in 2022 to Essity, a health and hygiene brand, for $320 million allowed Knix to expand its retail presnece in North America, improve its virtual fit program and launch into new product categories. In November of 2023, Knix launched a leakproof shapewear line. Knix has also launched swimwear, leggings, athletic apparel and more. The brand in June launched its first swimwear collaboration with Sarah Nicole Landry, also known as TheBirdsPapaya.
But not all competitors in the period care space have fared well recently. Thinx laid off 95 workers earlier this year after Kimberly-Clark acquired a majority stake in 2022.
