Chicago Public Schools will be paying $1,800,000 extra for non-organic period products from a non-woman owned business.

But they didn’t have to.

Chicago Public Schools is the nation’s 4th largest school district, supporting 341,382 students.

27% of children in Chicago live in poverty, and offering freely accessible period products in school bathrooms will increase attendance amongst menstruating youth.

This is why Aunt Flow worked with Citron Hygiene to respond to a bid with our best price.

The tabulations were published, and we came in $1.8m less than our next competitor.

• We were the only woman-owned company bidding.
• The only organic cotton period product solution.
• The only high-capacity, rust-free dispenser (holding 5x the amount of period products).

It was baffling when we were notified that we were not selected for the award, although the bid specifically stated it would be awarded to the lowest bidder. Instead, we were disqualified due to a “technicality.”

We thoughtfully responded to their inadequate rationale on why we were disqualified. We hired a professional to help us navigate the process. We showed up at a board meeting to plead our case.

Their reasons continued to change on why we weren’t awarded the contract.

Chicago Public Schools legal counsels’ final position on why we weren’t awarded the contract was because the Aunt Flow dispensers were inferior to the requested models and that our pricing was variable. If CPS took the time to review, they would learn that our dispensers are best-in-class and our pricing was variable only after the contract term.

We held off on sharing this story publicly; we were hoping this would be resolved in a fair and just way. But after 6 months and an impending award, it’s important that tax-payers and students know.

Our ask?

We are awarded the contract or, at a minimum, the bid is thrown out and a proper and fair process is followed that allows the best value for the schools. Both products and prices.

Additional Information on Aunt Flow / Citron:

• 750 schools and 1.6m students rely on Aunt Flow period products in school bathrooms.
• Schools across Utah, Oklahoma, and Ohio have all adopted Aunt Flow dispensers because of the high capacity, ease of reloading, and rust-free mechanisms.
• Aunt Flow period products have clear ingredients, made with organic cotton.
• Since 2021, Aunt Flow has donated over 5.3m period products to menstruators in need in the USA. 
• Learn more at goauntflow.com