LA stylist Karla Welch is redefining the way people menstruate with her own line of absorbent and affordable period underwear, sold at period.co.
“Our business is about making change and reimagining the period so that one day nobody will have to go without period products,” Karla says.
![The Period Company co-founder, Karla Welch.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/KW_PORTRIAT_3731_2.jpg?v=1671669949)
Karla and her team at The Period Company wanted to create period underwear that everybody could use and that anyone would be able to afford.
“We don’t go above $12, and we’re actively looking at how we can reduce costs,” Karla says. ”So you can spend about $250 a year on period products, or you could make an investment of $60 and have enough period underwear to last you 5 years.”
![Two pairs of The Heavy Period underwear in black layed out side by side.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/21-0304_PERIOD_ForIG-1144_FINAL.jpg?v=1671670097)
Currently, The Period Company offers 6 different underwear styles in 10 size options.
“We always knew we wanted to be very size-inclusive, a lot of brands end at 3X, we go until 6X. We also created an adaptive style which is for people who are differently abled, or have mobility issues, we just wanted to make sure everybody that has a period felt welcome here,” Karla says.
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Karla says she hopes the range of choices on her company’s website leaves customers feeling comfortable and accepted, no matter how they identify.
“We wanted to make sure we had a pair of underwear, like a boxer, that didn’t feel specifically gender-identified,” she says.
Period products aren’t just expensive. They’re also costly to produce and have a negative impact on the environment.
“The very first period product you’ve ever used, that you’re mom and your grandma used, they’re still on the planet and they won’t decompose, which is horrifying,”Karla says.
“If we can shift the ideas people have had for the last several hundred years regarding our periods, basically told to us through advertising, then that’s way more important than a pair of underwear.”
Tune in to the full Shopify Masters episode to learn how Karla and her team at The Period Company are rebranding the period while offering affordable and sustainable products.