Get to know Nadya Okamoto (she/her/hers) of the sustainable period care company August. You can check out Nadya's Norby here!
I'm the CEO and Co-Founder of August.
@nadyaokamoto on Instagram and TikTok!
I won’t shut up about August + periods...most period products made today can take anywhere from 500-800 years to decompose, and most pads have enough plastic for 3-5 plastic bags. And as we all know, plastic-y pads are just not very comfortable, and use more chemicals in their production process too. Needless to say, a lot of period care on the market is detrimental to both our health and our Earth. That’s why sustainability was built into my company August – we’ve sourced high quality 100% cotton to make our products, and our entire supply chain is ethical and carbon neutral. It’s so important for consumers to be able to trace how their products are made, and we really prioritize this transparency when making our period care.
In our August Inner Cycle! Community is at the heart of all we do. You can join our ‘inner cycle’ where we have almost 3000 members. I also linked this in my Norby link in bio page too!
One of the biggest challenges I faced was burnout — both physically and mentally. I often worked until I was exhausted, and this was detrimental both for me and the people around me. Since then, I’ve really learned the importance of prioritizing my health and self-care and will continue to work on finding harmony in my work and life. My biggest achievement over the last couple years has been to get on a good sleep schedule, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night!
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given was from my mom who would tell me that “a true leader is one who empowers others to be leaders themselves.” The worst advice is that if you aren’t about to crash and burn, you’re not working hard enough — and i think this lesson came from growing up in popularized hustle culture in many ways.
To me, success is doing everything I can with my time, energy, and passion to contribute to this movement in some way. I feel humbled to be one small part in this menstrual movement, and excited to see what’s to come. On a personal level, I’d love to keep my daily habits of sleeping 8+ hours a night! Which still sometimes feels like a big and challenging feat...
I usually work from coffee shops. It helps my productivity and focus to work in more busy settings, like Brooklyn coffee shops. Currently answering these q’s on a Saturday morning at Kettl in Greenpoint, BK.
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