I have lived with a disability, diagnosed during my mother’s pregnancy, my entire life. Yet, like many who have a disability, the ‘label’ didn’t resonate with me for a long time. People may assume that it was simply because I don’t look disabled.

However, I’ve found that my friends whose disabilities are visible experience the same feeling. I have drawn the conclusion that it is because we haven’t been included in conversations about disability that we see ourselves represented in, and have shown disability in a holistic, authentic way. It’s often because conversations about disability happen within the disability community, like an echo chamber, so it's only when you’re ‘in’ that you are exposed to these perspectives, but in the general community, you aren’t. You don’t get it until you get it.

Part of my lived experience of disability has brought challenges with employment. I am still managed by a sporting team of medical specialists whose random and sporadic appointments dictate my scheduling, on top of managing fluctuating symptom severity. It has turned me to entrepreneurship, starting Champion Health Agency (a talent agency for lived experience) three years ago, and realising even more that the most powerful conversations and perspectives are being missed by those who need to hear them most.

Entrepreneurship is a huge opportunity for the disability community to leverage ourselves out of unemployment. I built these entrepreneurial skills out of necessity when I couldn’t be employed traditionally due to my disability, and I now wanted to find a way to have more conversations about disability and topics that may be understood, isolating or carrying stigma with everyone. To reach everyone, I needed a product that everyone used and needed. That led me to toilet paper.

The rise of socially conscious, online, and delivered-to-your-door subscription-based toilet paper companies made the idea more mainstream, but the largest minority was still missing from the conversation, leadership, and ownership - as we often are. If more homes simply switched to a disability-owned toilet paper brand, they wouldn’t only contribute to solving the disability employment crisis and economic freedom for our community but also have more conversations about disability. This wouldn’t just benefit our community, but benefit everyone.

In May 2024 after a year of hard work we launched SHH!T Happens, a world-first eco-friendly essentials company born, bred and led by the disability community that is working hard to solve the challenges of the disability community from the bottom up. With the support of the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN), that I founded to scale other disability-owned everyday product-based businesses, we were able to find Australian-based, eco-friendly manufacturers to produce a certified flushable, plastic and paraben-free intimate wipe, and 100% recycled, FSC certified 3PLY toilet paper. We are so proud of our products but more proud of our purpose.

SHH!T Happens is a case study to demonstrate to the world that people with a disability are no less capable of building profitable and commercially viable businesses, despite the cards we’ve been dealt. It’s a testament to the collective; it’s proof that regardless of the circumstances, sh*t tends to happen, and that in no way defines who you are, your capability, or your potential in bringing your dreams to life. We celebrate everyone.

SHH!T Happens speaks to experiences we can all relate to - whether it be a busted tyre, an embarrassing moment, or greater adversity. We can often feel our differences are what separates us, but they are the powerful things that can bring us together. We aren’t alone in the things we experience once we share them. And we hope that eye-catching everyday essentials can create conversations that simply need to happen.

If every time people used the bathroom they were choosing to support disability, Australian made and the environment, the world would be a better place. And now it can be!

About the Author:

Anja Christoffersen is an award-winning disability advocate, social entrepreneur, author and model, selected as one of the International Day of People with Disability Ambassadors for 2023. Anja walked Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam at 17 years old, and wrote a book (Behind the Smile) before turning to entrepreneurship and founding the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network, Champion Health Agency, SHH!T Happens, and co-founding Against the Grain Coffee.