Chicago South Side woman creates Honor Period menstrual products; cutting cost, environmental impact
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One South Side Chicago woman created an alternative to help prevent hundreds of pounds of plastic waste caused by menstrual products.
Most of what's being tossed is plastic or synthetic material that might be disposable, but it's not biodegradable. That's the product, the packaging, the adhesives, and extra absorbent strips - none of it ever breaks down.
The alternative product is meant to last years and help people save both on cost and their environmental impact.
"This is the first pad liner that I designed, and I just kind of held on to it. You see, like, the paper is getting old," said Cecilia Towns-Scott.
Towns-Scott keeps her vision board propped up against a wall in what serves as both her children's playroom and the packaging center for her "Honor Period" underwear line.
"This is the vision board, the keep going board, so that's this girl over here," she said.
The Honor brand has been in the making since 2014.
"I was making it for myself, you know, to give myself the flexible absorbency that I needed," she said.
Towns-Scott's concern for the environment already had her buying reusable period underwear.
"Like you don't want to, like, walk around nervous, but like the Earth is on fire. It's literally on fire because of, like what we are doing," she said. "You know, I can make choices in how I period that are good for the Earth."
However, the period panties she'd been buying were a pain to switch out in what little time she had during the day.
"For a long time, I was working in Chicago Public Schools, and so you have four minutes between classes," Towns-Scott said.
But switching out an entire pair of underwear between classes proved to be more trouble than it was worth.
"And do all of that in a four-minute span. Like it was like, I know we can do better than this," she said.
Taking note of products she'd used up until then, Towns-Scott began sketching out the first designs for the honor briefs - with a removable and reusable liner
"There's an opening at the front and the back. And so you kind of like slide the liner in there and then secure it in the front and in the back….we're the only one that is done exactly like this," she said.
Soon, she'd found local designers to help her pull the final product together - financing the entire venture with her own money when there was little funding to be found.
"I've experienced all the things that they say about people of color and funding and just kind of not being there, so I was literally kind of building the brand with my paychecks from CPS. Which, it's CPS," Towns-Scott said.
From the start of Honor through 2021, Towns-Scott's Honor Period apparel was totally self-funded.
"I guess I'm just being a bit stubborn, but I'm like, all right, girl, like, you need help," she said.
With some successful crowdfunding and freshly won grant money – that was all the help she needed to finally buy the first mass shipment of Honor Briefs.
Now, Towns-Scott is on a mission to get Honor apparel into the hands of as many menstruating people as possible.
"Just trying to be as sustainable as we possibly can, and it's a small contribution, but it's doing something," she said.
Alongside the environmental benefits of reusable period products come some significant savings. The National Institute of Health estimates the average person is slated to save anywhere between $160 to $200 a year by going green.