It's said that there is safety in numbers, and Meika Hollander, cofounder of natural condom company Sustain, is out to prove this is true when it comes to safe sex. Today marks both the first day of National Women's Health Week and the launch of Hollender's Get On Top campaign to encourage 100,000 women to pledge to practice safe sex — an initiative the entrepreneur developed in partnership with birth control support network Bedsider and nine go-getting, safe-sex-having friends.
"Throughout launching the business, [I've been] trying to think about how we can really remove the stigma associated with women and sex and sexual health and really start a national conversation," Hollender tells Refinery29. "I want to have an impact beyond just selling the product. I had this idea — what if we can just get 100,000 women to start talking about safe sex and sexual health?"
"I think that’s a really aspirational number," she continues, "but also a number to start proving to other women, 'This is really important. This is something you should be thinking about. It’s a critical part of your overall health.'"
Hollender banded together with nine other women, including Thinx founder Miki Agrawal and Refinery29's own creative director and cofounder Piera Gelardi, to create the campaign video, in which the women share their own reasons for practicing safe sex. Hollender is hopeful that, just as these women inspire in the business world, they'll lead by example here.
"I hope that this campaign will help women everywhere have these conversations between parents and children and significant others or one-night stands," Hollender says. "I think a lot of people think safe sex equals condoms, and it's so much bigger than that. Safe sex is about planning if and when you want to have children, it’s about protecting yourself from HIV and STIs, but it’s also about learning how your body enjoys sex."
While the Get On Top pledge is specific to this week, the campaign seeks to encourage women to take control of their sexual health for life. For every pledge made, it will also donate a condom to a young woman, in partnership with Bedsider and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy. View the teaser video above; then, click through to Get On Top's website to join the movement.
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