Vaila Shoes founder Ahriana Edwards has announced the brand will start selling its size-inclusive footwear at Macy's.

“There’s no credit that I can give to anyone else except for the man up above,” the founder wrote in a post on Instagram. “He gave me the vision and told me that it was time to MOVE. It was time to execute. I left my FULL-TIME JOB to achieve this dream of building this shoe company for women with extended shoe sizes.”

The 23-year-old’s products will be available in five Macy’s locations in New York City, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.

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The news comes after Edwards took home $15,000 at the Better Futures Competition on April 21. The company offers fashionable heels and shoes for women in sizes nine to 14.

Grace Jacobson, an associate shoe buyer at Macy’s, said she was impressed by Edwards’ dedication to her brand and the work that she has accomplished in such a short time.

“Ahriana is so inspiring in creating a business that will help others feel their best having shoes that will support their shoe size that currently isn’t supported much in the marketplace. I also admired how Ahriana is showing that regardless of your age, you can still be able to make a change in this world and just start.”

Femly lands organic period care products in CVS

A Black-owned feminine hygiene care company, Femly, has announced it is expanding its period care products at select CVS stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Founder Arion Long said the products are made with 100 per cent cotton and are free from harmful chemicals, which can lead to health problems in some women.

“We assume, because some of these pads are white, they’re clean. That is so far from the truth,” Long told AfroTech. “Historically, many of the popular pad brands were made with synthetic materials like nylon, which is known for harbouring heat and bacteria. The other side of that is many of these pads included ingredients like Bisphenol A bleach dioxins, which are linked to reproductive illnesses and cancer.”

One of Long’s biggest achievements is developing a first-of-its-kind dispenser for Femly’s period care products. She said she has worked to land them in restrooms across the U.S.

“There are so many organizations that get $200 million in revenue or more,” she told AfroTech. “We want to be a unicorn that reaches a billion. So, we’re just taking all the steps to align ourselves to change more lives.”