Boxed.com Takes Stand Against Pink Tax

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2016 (PRNewswire) - Whether shopping at the local drug store, a big box retailer, online or a bulk wholesale club, unfair pricing on women's products, also known as Pink Tax, is unavoidable. Boxed announces today a new initiative that will take a powerful stand against luxury tax on feminine hygiene products and gender price gouging on everyday items including body wash, deodorant, razors, and shave gel, by lowering prices on these items for consumers. The hope is that by taking this stand it will encourage other retailers to do the same; that a change will reverberate. The company will be covering the cost to change the prices.
"Our team took a hard look at some of the products offered on Boxed and realized that many female products cost significantly more than their male equivalents on a per ounce or per unit basis, and in some states feminine products are charged a luxury tax," says Boxed CEO and founder Chieh Huang. "This just didn't make sense to our team, and when it was brought to senior management's attention, we immediately decided this was an issue we wanted to help bring to the forefront and take action."
Boxed.com, which offers a no membership fee alternative to wholesale shopping clubs, will reduce the sales tax amount from the list price on items that are subject to a luxury tax, and will also reduce the cost of certain women's products where the price is shown to be greater than the male equivalent.
According to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, women pay 13% more for personal care products1. Over the course of a woman's life, this will cause a significant financial impact.
"Based on our research, on average, per ounce or per unit, women are paying 108% more for razors; 10% more for body wash; 8% more for deodorant and 5% more for shaving gel," says Nitasha Mehta, Associate Director of Reengagement Marketing at Boxed, who surfaced the idea to the company. "As a female consumer, I am frustrated by these gender-based price discrepancies for the products I use every day, but as a female employee at Boxed, I feel heard and proud to work for a company that is taking a stand on an issue that will benefit so many."
Starting today, customers will be able to easily identify the women's products Boxed will be price adjusting by looking for the new trademarked #RethinkPink logo. Boxed is encouraging other retailers to use the tag to signify solidarity.
"We are taking a firm position in an effort to correct these gender pricing wrongs even if we take a hit on margin because we hope that this small change will be the catalyst to a great win in equality," says Huang.