Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Coder.
Claire, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After getting my period in public without the supplies I needed, I thought to myself “Toilet paper is offered for free, why aren’t tampons and pads?”Ⓡ At that moment, I decided to drop out of college and start Aunt Flow at 18 years old. I’ve been on a mission to ensure that everyone has access to period products ever since!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
One of the main challenges I faced when building Aunt Flow dealt with the stigma around periods. Periods are oftentimes looked at as “gross.” And when you are trying to start a business with this taboo around your products, it can be difficult. But, we, at Aunt Flow, like to be positive and surround ourselves with period positivity! Also, we focus on educating people that periods are not gross, and they are a normal part of life for menstruators!
As you know, we’re big fans of Aunt Flow. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Since I started this company in 2016, we have been dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to free and high-quality period products. We work with thousands of businesses and schools to implement intuitive bathroom solutions with our free-vend period product dispensing systems filled with our organic cotton tampons and pads.
What sets us apart is not only our free-vend and sustainable approach but our commitment to inclusivity when it comes to the bathroom experience. That’s why we’ve removed all gendered language and refer to pads and tampons as “period products” rather than “feminine hygiene products.” Our dispensers are multilingual with iconography showing tampons and pads clearly on the front of the dispenser. It’s a small, but meaningful step to help make the world better for people with periods.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The main takeaway is that periods don’t stop for a pandemic! That’s why Aunt Flow pivoted our business and began retooling our pad production to make FDA Approved 3-PLY masks in 2020. My team linked arms, and we started building Work Flow. While Work Flow has since discontinued, we were able to donate over 1 million masks to people in need and continue to make a difference!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://goauntflow.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goauntflow/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goauntflow/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aunt-flow/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoAuntFlow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goauntflow
