What’s sexy, practical, environmentally friendly and sometimes smells like cat litter?

The answer is Thinx, the super-absorbent panties that are rapidly gaining in popularity among young people with periods.

One day in college on a particularly-heavy period day, I texted my friend something to the effect of, “What if they made panties that absorbed period blood?” As I have mentioned previously, I never could get tampons to work right with my body. I am also very picky about pads; I don’t like pads with wings, and it can be difficult to find a size that doesn’t feel huge, messy, and cumbersome. I had long dreamed of a day when I could forego the nuisance of traditional menstrual products.

To my surprise, my friend responded that the solution I had invented in my mind already existed! They sent me the link to the website, and I immediately got to shopping for my first pair of period-proof underwear.

Although I was mostly optimistic about Thinx, I was a little afraid the concept wouldn’t be much different from adult diapers. But I was pleasantly surprised. Thinx underwear come in different shapes, sizes, colors and absorbencies, and they even have lacy and sexy, form-fitting designs. Unable to make up my mind, I chose a few different options: sport, cheeky and hi-waist. When my first pair came in the mail, I found myself thinking something I’ve never thought before in my life: I can’t wait until my next period.

My first three pairs of Thinx.

When I first tried on my Thinx, I thought it was too good to be true. Before that moment, whenever I heard the phrase “period panties,” I had thought of stained cotton underwear that you only wear on your period to keep from throwing them away.

With Thinx, I felt sexy. My extremely painful periods that once felt like a curse of nature now felt like only a minor inconvenience. Thinx made me ready to take on the day without worrying about leaks or discomfort. Plus, I’m being environmentally conscious by not throwing away tons of paper products. It’s an all-around win, right?

Well, not so fast. There are a few drawbacks to Thinx that have made me hesitate to recommend them enthusiastically to all my friends. The foremost of these problems is the expense. Thinx range in price from $24 to $39 per pair. I realize I am extremely privileged to be able to purchase this product. For low-income folks, especially one of the 2.6 million Americans working at or below federal minimum wage, it is much easier to take $4 out of their paycheck for a pack of pads each month, rather than making a long-term investment in some fancy absorbent underwear. Thinx must explore ways to make their product more accessible across class lines. Hopefully, as demand increases, Thinx will become more affordable.

Although Thinx has made efforts to improve the gender inclusiveness of their branding, the company still has issues with gender essentialism. Thinx largely advertises their products as if only women have periods, and they associate their product with femininity. Although Thinx has answered the call for more trans-inclusive branding by creating a gender-neutral boyshort product and affirming trans men on their website, the website’s URL is still “shethinx.com.” Additionally, their website’s health information is listed as “women’s health.” Thinx should be praised for their efforts, but we as consumers should continue to push them to fully include their trans customers, rather than including them as a footnote.

I have been critical in the past of the company’s Power of Purchase program, which sent money to a company called AFRIpads. AFRIpads trains women to manufacture affordable cloth pads that will allow young women to stay in school. Such a program is not inherently bad, but it does ignore the root causes of the “menstruation problem” in peripheral countries and has some colonialist undertones. According to the Thinx website, “When we started our giveback program, we helped fund the production of reusable pads for people with periods in Uganda. But we quickly realized that access to menstrual health products was a small part of a much larger issue.” Thinx now focuses on education and empowerment by partnering with schools and nonprofit organizations to increase access to information about reproductive health, in addition to donating period products. It’s good to know that Thinx has been responsive to this particular critique and continues to evolve in its mission.

Although Thinx brands itself as a feminist, millennial-friendly company, perhaps the most alarming negative about Thinx is the internal working environment as reported by its employees. According to a 2017 article on racked.com, numerous employees at Thinx reported “substandard pay, flimsy benefits, and scarce perks” and even described their working environment as being in an “abusive relationship.”

Their CEO and co-founder Miki Agrawal was criticized in the media for her gimmicky and opportunistic take on feminism, causing her to fire back with an open letter on Medium. In a company that employees mostly women, it is extremely discouraging to read that those employees do not feel safe or valued at work. One source from the Racked article states, “I love working here. I love working for women. But it hurts to know that I’m giving my whole life to Thinx basically, like I work all the time, but I can’t even afford birth control. And what does that mean if we’re at a feminist company and I can’t afford to keep myself safe and protected?”

These reports of the working conditions at Thinx are by far my biggest reason to hesitate when I consider buying another pair. Perhaps now that the CEO has stepped down, there is hope for the work culture to move into alignment with the company’s feminist values.

On a practical note, you’re probably wondering about the cat litter. I have had my Thinx for about two years now and have since acquired a fourth pair. At first, I had no problems, but over time, my Thinx started to smell like cat litter after I wore them. I was extremely disappointed in this, since the lack of odor was one of the main reasons I loved my Thinx. I went on the company’s Instagram and asked if other Thinx users were having this problem, and it turns out that I was not alone.

I suspect that the anti-microbial lining may share some properties with the ingredients in cat litter. In my initial excitement, I somehow missed that Thinx need to be hang-dried rather than put in the dryer. According to my fellow Instagrammers, this should prevent the degradation of the product and eliminate the cat litter smell. If I do purchase another pair, I will be much more meticulous in caring for them!