Molly Hayward, graduate of the Connecticut College class of 2010, has always been empowered to work for women’s rights—especially from a global and economic perspective. This drive has led her to found the company, CORA Women.
CORA is a for-profit business based on the idea of global solidarity between women; the company’s motto is “Woman for woman and month for month.” When a woman subscribes with CORA, she receives a box every month that contains enough organic, healthy feminine hygiene products (produced by Natracare) to sustain her through her menstrual period. At the same time, another, identical box goes to a girl or a woman in a developing country who does not have access or the money to afford their own feminine hygiene products.
“Unable to afford imported sanitary pads, girls and women resort to using old rags, newspaper, animal dung, tree bark or old mattresses, causing infections and humiliating leaks,” Hayward explains on her website.
“Hundreds of millions of girls and women globally lack access to affordable menstrual management products, and often avoid school or work during their periods each month.”
CORA provides the products that these women do not have access to, while also giving a conscientious, healthy alternative to basic store-bought products for Western women.
“CORA took the opportunity to provide easy access to alternative products,” said CORA campus representative Olivia Dufour ’15. “Now that I have this access, I don’t want to use things that aren’t organic and chemical free. I feel like I’ve been lied to for my whole life by big feminine hygiene companies that don’t tell the truth about the risks associated with their products.”
Dufour is referring to the amount of chemicals and toxic materials used to make the non-organic feminine products that most women in the United States use month to month.
According to Hayward’s website, “conventional non-organic tampons are made with Rayon, which increases the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome, and cotton that has been contaminated with toxic pesticides that are linked to cancer, infertility and other serious illnesses. The cotton bleaching process also produces a chemical byproduct dioxin, a known carcinogen that accumulates in the body with exposure over time.”
There is much more to it than just health conscientiousness. Dufour explained that the company “works on a level of economic empowerment and a level of social empowerment. I think it encapsulates all of the different issues we are trying to address through the vein of feminism, and I think that’s what’s so exciting about this is that it is really accessible and really approachable.”
The point of the business is to provide a platform from which women can learn and educate themselves and others about different injustices facing women in both the Western world and developing countries.
The website states: “For many girls and women around the world, menstruation is treated as a curse of womanhood. They are shamed, and treated as impure, prohibited from certain activities, and banned from religious places and even sometimes their homes during their periods.”
There is more to their menstruation problem than just product access. For a long time, society has operated in a way that shames women for their periods. In the United States, this is less prominent than it is in underdeveloped countries, but it still exists.
CORA turns a woman’s period into a nurtured time of the month, as opposed to something that needs to be worried about. Another Conn College CORA representative, Danielle Cyr ’15, explained that, “It’s positive for not only yourself but also for a woman in the world that is struggling with these issues. So, to me it’s just like why not? It’s just such a clear answer to many problems.”
Hayward’s savvy and determination are reflected at every level of the business. While the for-profit model can often be construed as detrimental to the mission of the company, Dufour explained that, “what Molly tried to create was a sustainable business venture that would connect women through economic empowerment.”
Many nonprofits are far from perfect. Between overhead and budget issues, they often end up dealing with keeping the lights on more than accomplishing their goals. As a for-profit business, CORA is a part of a new breed of company, similar to Tom’s shoes and Warby Parker. Hayward’s innovative skills are what will propel CORA forward. “For me, she’s inspirational” says Cyr. Dufour continues, “Her networking skills are superb; and her strength is what’s especially exciting.”
As campus CORA representatives, Dufour and Cyr are responsible for informing the student body about CORA, as well as for providing opportunities for students to get involved.
Cyr explained that “[their] goal is not just to have people just buy the products; we want to create a community where we can talk about these issues.” Their goals are to work within the Conn community and with other organizations (like the Women’s Center) to spread awareness and to use CORA as a catalyst for broader conversations about social and economic issues facing women globally.
Dufour said that, “the best way to get involved is to start the conversation so we can visualize the problem and go from there.”
