In Germany tampons were taxed at the same rate as luxury goods: 19%. Tampons - a luxury? To raise awareness of this absurdity, tampons were packaged in books, which are sold a the lower rate of 7%. But The Tampon Book is much more than smart packaging that hacked the German tax system. It contains 45 pages of bold illustrations and empowering stories about menstruation, taboos and feminism. It provoked a petition that eventually led to a change in the way tampons are taxed.
Philosophy
Our organic tampons have nothing to hide, so why conceal them in a book? We do this to protest against the unfair and sexist taxation on tampons, sanitary pads and other feminine hygiene products. In Germany, these are still considered “luxury goods” and therefore taxed with the top value added tax rate of 19 percent. Meanwhile, actual luxury products such as flowers, truffles or oil paintings are considered daily necessities and earn the reduced rate of only 7 percent. Is this crazy? Yes indeed! Luckily, we’ve found a loophole. Books are also taxed with 7 percent.That’s why our tampons now come as a book, or rather inside a book.