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    Focus on Philanthropy : Aunt Flow

    Enter any public or private building and it’ll have at least one bathroom. If the custodians have done their jobs, the shelves will be fully stocked with paper towels, hand soap and toilet paper. But, one crucial item is likely to be missing: tampons. Menstrual products, more commonly referred to as feminine hygiene products, are a necessity for people who menstruate — about half of the population — yet not only are they usually missing from bathrooms; they’ve historically been left out of the conversation entirely.

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    Aunt Flow, the local get-one-give-one tampon company, is changing that.

    Founder Claire Coder brought Aunt Flow to the community after being personally stranded without a tampon at the start of her period. She happened to be at Columbus’ Startup Week, an event largely attended by men, and could find no one to slip her a tampon. The bathrooms offered no help either, so, after fashioning a makeshift tampon out of toilet paper, Coder left early.

    “I was like, ‘Okay, in this very situation, I could go home that night and purchase more tampons and pads, but so many people living in the United States can’t go home and purchase tampons and pads,’” Coder said. “This is a real problem, and we don’t know it’s a problem because we don’t talk about menstruation, because it’s still so taboo.”

    To start the conversation, Coder has learned to become quite comfortable talking about her vagina and her period. She stays active in the community, sharing the goals and mission of her company, Aunt Flow, a euphemism “menstruators” use to convey the presence of their periods. It’s also a character Coder personifies. And, though she admits that she never expected the business to be so ingrained in her, she said “I’m all in.”

    The get-one-give-one model supplies local and national non-profits with tampons and pads, with one or two beneficiaries each quarter. A $5 donation is enough to support one menstruator with 18 100 percent cotton tampons and pads, a one-month supply.

    Being a Bags for Change partner with Lucky’s Market has made a difference in that donation stream, allowing them to give more to their beneficiaries, as well as fund the general operations of Aunt Flow. Their most recent beneficiaries are Grace Haven and Dress for Success.

    But, making menstrual products more accessible is only half of Aunt Flow’s mission. The other is erasing the taboo from menstruation by being the first company to stop using the label “feminine hygiene products.”

    “That’s, of course, because feminine hygiene, first of all, is not inclusive,” Coder said. “Not everyone who needs tampons and pads identifies as feminine. Also, it’s really ambiguous. Nobody has any idea what feminine hygiene even means. And then on top of that, using the word “hygiene” when referring to menstruation just continues that taboo that menstruation is dirty.”

    As a Bags for Change partner, Aunt Flow continues to get the word out. People who shop at Lucky’s have been sending her pictures, saying “‘Hey, I got to support Aunt Flow today, and I also got to support the environment,’” she said, “so it just keeps that continued recognition of the company, recognition of the brand.”

    Going forward, Coder said she wants to keep the conversation and the social movement moving forward. While menstruation hasn’t lost all of its taboo yet, Coder is hopeful.

    “I think eventually it will be ingrained,” she said. “It won’t be as hush hush. I just think that it’s in due time.”

    For more information about Aunt Flow, visit auntflow.org.

    luckys-marketFocus on Philanthropy is a feature series sponsored by Lucky’s Market that highlights Central Ohio nonprofit organizations involved in their Bags for Change program. Encouraging the use of reusable bags, the program grants a $.10 credit per bag or the option to donate it to a local nonprofit. Lucky’s will also match the donation. For more information, follow them on Twitter at @luckysmarket and like Lucky’s Market on Facebook.

     

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    Lauren Sega
    Lauren Segahttps://columbusunderground.com
    Lauren Sega is the former Associate Editor for Columbus Underground and a current freelance writer for CU. She covers political issues on the local and state levels, as well as local food and restaurant news. She grew up near Cleveland, graduated from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism, and loves running, traveling and hiking.
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