Photo via Slate.com

Periods. Every woman in the world gets her period and yet for centuries, there has been a taboo surrounding the monthly visitor all women receive. Although the taboo has improved vastly in recent history, there are still numerous problems with the ways periods are dealt with and talked about.

The taboo surrounding periods affects women and girls everyday. Most girls I know feel the need to hide their pad or tampon on their way to the bathroom. Women often do not announce to the world when they are feeling down from their periods. If a girl gets her period in public, it is usually met with laughing and embarrassment. Last year, when an artist named Rupi Kaur posted a photo on Instagram of a woman in bed with period blood, Instagram removed the post, citing a failure to meet community guidelines. If that was not enough, in develop-ing nations, women do not have the same access to period products as in more developed nations and are forced to miss out on school during those weeks in the year. Why does something as commonplace as a period remain such an off-limits topic of conversation?

Enter Thinx, a fairly new product for women with periods, which is patented underwear to wear on your period. The under-wear is moisture-wicking, anti-microbial, absorbent, and leak-resistant, which can either replace the use for pads or tampons or assist them, depending on how the wearer feels in them. The underwear also look and feel like a regular pair of underwear and come in multiple styles, such as hiphugger, boyshort, and sport. I was lucky enough to interview the Co-Founder and CEO of Thinx, Miki Agrawal.

The idea for Thinx first came to Agrawal when she was at a family barbeque five years ago, teamed up with her twin sister in a three-legged race. During the race, her sister started her period, so she had to sprint inside to clean up. While Agrawal’s sister cleaned her bathing suit, the idea came to them to create period-proof underwear. They thought of the amount of times their lives had been interrupted from their periods and the many pairs of under-wear ruined.

Agrawal had the opportunity to attend the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, where she met a young girl who she assumed should be in school. The girl replied that it was her “week of shame,” which meant that while she was on her period, she could not attend school. After some re-search, Agrawal found out that about 100 million girls in the world were missing school because of their periods.

Along with Antonia Dunbar, Agrawal co-founded Thinx, which took them three and a half years to develop and patent. Agrawal says it was quite difficult to develop because “it is a small area down there” and “it has to feel like a regular pair of under-wear” while also being moisture-wicking. They also spent a lot of time going back and forth with a patent lawyer, writing descriptively and reading through fine print. Dunbar has since become a silent co-founder.

In addition to creating the period-proof underwear, Agrawal knew she wanted to aid young girls in Africa who were missing school for their “week of shame.” After searching the world, she found AFRIpads, a company in Uganda made up entirely of women that makes reusable pads available to young girls to purchase at a good price. According to Thinx’s website, shethinx.com, “AFRIpads trains women to sew and sell washable, reusable cloth pads, turning local women into entrepreneurs.” For every pair of Thinx underwear sold, a portion of the profits is donated to AFRI-pads to help African girls be given the resources they need to stay in school and succeed.

The mission of Thinx is to break the taboo surrounding menstruation. Thinx is committed to creating “a world where no woman is held back by her body” (shethinx.com). The company hopes to provide comfort to women and eliminate the shame surrounding periods, so every woman has the opportunity to succeed. Agrawal hopes that Thinx can be the “leaders in that charge.” She explains that it is “all about creating an accessible feminist conversation that is fun and informative.” She hopes that with a product that works for women, they can continue to spread the message.

The underwear is made by women in Sri Lanka who discovered Thinx, and wanted to manufacture the product. These women also manufacture products for Victoria’s Secret, Spanx, and Lulu Lemon. Agrawal said that this was the “right partnership” she was looking for.

Time Magazine named Thinx one of the “25 Best Inventions of 2015” and Thinx has been featured on several websites, such as Buzzfeed. Agrawal says this has been a “magical experience,” and that they receive hundreds of messages everyday. Thinx currently has close to 30 employees, but they will be “adding a lot of people to [their] roster” in the coming year.

When asked about her next plans for the company, Agrawal says that she is currently developing a product that will “disrupt the tampon category.” Accord-ing to Agrawal, over 20 billion plastic tampons and pads end up in landfills every year. This new product will be launched in a few months. To learn more about the work Thinx is doing, visit shethinx.com