Big Favorite: Hannah Harris, Founder of Brown Girl Hands

Interview by Eleanor Turner

Hannah Harris: Founder of Brown Girl Hands and Inclusive Creator

Claim-to-Fame: Founder of Brown Girl Hands, and Youngest Glossy 50 Honoree 2020

Handle: @browngirlhands

Relationship to TBF: The Big Favorite Founder, Eleanor, and I share an Alma Mater: Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Bio: Hannah Harris is an award-winning marketing student and inclusive creator with a specialty within the beauty industry and digital marketing.

Nickname from Friends: The Busy Body

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"At the core, I want to make the beauty industry a better and more inclusive place. The day we don’t need D&I anymore, we’ve done our job."

Quickie Q's:

Favorite TBF item: Bikini Brief!

How do you handle a wedgie? The "secret pick". I can't be uncomfortable for too long.

What’s your favorite word for butt? Butt or bum. My mom is from Trinidad and she would use “bum.”

Favorite word for underwear? Panties!

Undergarment shopping habits? I'll bulk-buy around 3 times a year, and I try to save money by shopping multiples. That holds me over so that I can replace my oldest pairs I've been sitting on. Then I start the cycle over again.

Have you ever forgotten your underwear? I’ve forgotten pajamas, but never my underwear! My mom is a nurse and she is too aware to let me forget something so vital.

What do you think could change the game in underwear and undershirts? It's funny, my friends and I were hyped about some new flashy underwear brand we'd come across and I thought...how is a new collection every couple of weeks ‘sustainable’? I literally thought how a take-back program for undergarments could solve the issue of circularity, reducing waste and keeping materials in use! It wasn’t but a few weeks later that I discovered The Big Favorite.

Favorite thing about TBF understuff? 
A. Comfort/Great Fit 
B. Softness/Pima Cotton
C. Inventiveness/Designing for Recyclability
*D. Participating in a circular clothing system/environmental impact

Let's Go Deep:

How long have you been aware that your purchases have a greater impact?

For as long as I can remember, I've been aware that our choices have a big impact. I'll partly attribute that to my Gen Z status...you can’t get away from it, we were just raised this way. It was during my time at SCAD that I began hearing others talk about these bigger issues they wanted to solve. No one person can solve every issue, but if each person addresses one issue they are most passionate about, the collective effort can make real change.

What role does the environment play in your shopping choices?

Every time we "add to bag" and make a purchase, we are making a statement about what is important to us. We're validating the companies we buy from. But we have to ask, does the company you just bought from value sustainability? Do they use plastic packaging? Are they making an effort to cut down their carbon footprint? Do they have a D&I plan? The sooner we all truly understand that the consumers are in a position of power, the better off we - and the planet - will be. 

What do you want your legacy to be? What are you doing to make an impact?

I'm passionate about the conversations happening at the intersection of diversity, inclusion, and beauty. At the core, I want to make the beauty industry a better and more inclusive place. The day we don’t need D&I anymore, we’ve done our job.

"...if each person addresses one issue they are most passionate about, the collective effort can make real change."

What are you most excited about in 2021?

Hope...and a vaccine. We need to get healthy and refill our energy cups.

What future do you rally around?

The future where people like me, who are changing the game in diversity and inclusion, aren’t needed anymore.