The "Feminist" Period Underwear Company Thinx Turned Out to Be Pretty Anti-Feminist

From Seventeen

Period-proof underwear company Thinx is under fire this week after Racked published a bombshell investigation uncovering a pattern of abusive workplace practices allegedly happening at the startup.

Thinx markets itself to customers as a feminist brand, but disturbingly, employees don't seem to be benefiting from the company's pro-woman ideals. One anonymous former staffer who was interviewed for the report said her stint with Thinx was "like being in an abusive relationship" in "a middle school environment."

All told, half a dozen current and former employees spoke to Racked about their bad experiences at Thinx. Among the accusations:

• Company co-founder Miki Agrawal's management style is verbally abusive. During one meeting, she reportedly lashed out at an employee and called her a "bitch."

• Agrawal pressured staff to leave positive reviews of the company on job-search sites, even though Thinx's pay was "easily $30,000" less than what other companies paid.

• Thinx's health insurance was way too expensive for employees to afford. Even the cheapest plan cost $200 per month.

• Staffers had to return to work right away after having babies. Birth moms got just two weeks of paid leave and one week at half pay, while non-birthing parents got one week of paid leave and a week at half pay.

• Firings happened completely out of the blue. Two employees learned they had lost their jobs only when their email accounts were abruptly cut off.

• Employees were made to sign an agreement saying they would sever social media contact with all customers and potential customers - in other words, everyone on earth who gets their period.

"One of my coworkers started crying," an anonymous employee recalled of a harrowing staff meeting with Agrawal. "She said, you know, '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?'"

Ten people reportedly have left the 35-person company since January. Last week, Agrawal stepped down as CEO but is said to be remaining with Thinx as "chief vision officer."

In light of the Racked story, writer and LGBTQ advocate Tyler Ford tweeted a thread about their hurtful experiences working with Thinx as a model and performer. Tyler (who is gender non-binary and trans) described a series of upsetting encounters with employees that included transphobic language and creative theft.

(To read Tyler's entire thread, click here.)

Actress and author Mara Wilson shared her support for Tyler, tweeting that she, too, had "disappointing experiences" with Thinx.

As the Racked story and Tyler's tweets spread, more people came forward to denounce the brand on Twitter.

Seventeen.com contacted Thinx for comment and received a statement from a spokesperson that read, in part: "Our leadership is getting to the bottom of these allegations, and, as ever, we are actively working to address and improve our corporate culture."

Thinx also addressed Tyler's tweets. "We are devastated to hear about Tyler's account of their experience at the THINX fashion show," the statement read. "The hypocrisy of it all... we see it. THINX seeks to break barriers for the marginalized and uplift the silenced, and clearly, we still have a ways to go. From the bottom of our hearts, we'd like to extend our deepest apologies to Tyler and the LGBTQIA community. Tyler, we recognize that we are undeserving of the lessons you are so gracefully teaching us-but we promise to learn from your bravery and do better."

Hannah Orenstein is the assistant features editor at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram!

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