Shoppers searching for their preferred tampon brands might find themselves out of luck at select stores in the Denver area and beyond.

Some national chains, including CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Safeway, are struggling to keep the feminine care products on their shelves. Others, such as Walmart and Natural Grocers, aren’t as hard hit by the supply-chain disruption.

CVS is working with its suppliers to maintain an “ample” amount of feminine care products, said spokesperson Monica Prinzing. However, “in recent weeks, there have been instances when suppliers have not been able to fulfill the full quantities of orders placed.” She added that, when stores run out of specific products, the national chain — which consists of more than 50 locations throughout the state — tries to replenish them quickly.

Walgreens is also “experiencing some temporary brand-specific shortages in certain geographies,” said spokesperson Karen May. Their stores will continue to have products on the shelves and online, but it might only be specific brands, she added.

On Friday, the feminine care aisle at King Soopers, the state’s largest grocery store chain headquartered in Denver, was dotted with 12 stickers indicating that products would be restocked soon at its 1155 East 9th Ave. store. The tampon shelves at the Safeway at 560 Corona St. were noticeably empty on Sunday, with popular brands, such as Tampax Pearl and Cora Organic Applicator Tampons, missing.

Spokespeople for both companies didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

Those turning to Trader Joe’s won’t find tampons either, as its stores don’t sell them among their limited number of household products, said spokesperson Nakia Rohde.

However, Walmart isn’t experiencing a shortage in that category, said spokesperson Tricia Moriarty.

Natural Grocers also hasn’t “had any significant supply-chain issues with tampons, or any of our other products for feminine health,” said Laura Perkins, vice president of purchasing. “We may start to experience this due to nationwide shortages of the products sold in conventional stores, but we keep an open dialogue with the brands that we sell and have yet to hear of any impending issues.”

A Target spokesperson confirmed that brick-and-mortar and online stores contain a variety of feminine care products, including tampons, noting that the team is working closely with manufacturers where product has been more limited to secure additional inventory.

The tampon deficit occurring across the U.S. is similar to the national shortage of baby formula with some stores instituting limits on the number of boxes that can be purchased by individual buyers.

Social media is rife with conversation about it, with related TikTok videos racking up tens of thousands of views. Time reported the news of the tampon shortfall on June 7.

It’s also spurred interest in the social movement for free menstrual products. Organizations, such as Free The Tampons Foundation, Girls Helping Girls. Period. and Period Equity, have worked actively in the menstrual equity space, arguing that the cost of period products serve as a financial burden.

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