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Shop these women-run brands in honor of International Women's Day

Story highlights
  • March 8 is International Women's Day.
  • We rounded up eight women-run brands to help you celebrate.

(CNN) March 8 is International Women's Day, which honors and celebrates their achievements around the world.

What's an easy and fun way to participate? Shopping women-run brands.

To help you out, we've rounded up eight companies that just so happen to have women at the helm.

From sustainable clothing, to sturdy luggage, to genuinely enjoyable dental floss (hear us out), you can pick up fantastic products while supporting female entrepreneurs.

Away

Away, Instagram's favorite luggage brand, was founded by two millennial women who wanted more from their suitcases. The company makes one of the best — not to mention chicest — carry-ons around (starting at $225; awaytravel.com), which features an unbreakable polycarbonate shell, four super smooth 360-degree spinner wheels and even a built-in charger. We love it so much we wrote an entire article about it.

Rebecca Minkoff

Minkoff essentially started her career in the mailroom, moving to NYC at 18 to intern in the shipping department of a fashion designer. Minkoff later helped co-found her own eponymous fashion line, and these days, you can find her designs in more than 900 stores across the country. Minkoff also started the Female Founders Collective to connect and empower thousands of women-owned businesses. We especially love her classic, goes-with-anything Chevron Quilted Love crossbody bag ($295; nordstrom.com) and versatile, yet fun, Julian Backpack ($295; nordstrom.com).

Cuyana

Cuyana is a fashion brand that actually wants you to buy less: its philosophy is "Fewer, Better Things," and the brand, started by two business school grads, aims to create high-quality, timeless items that will last years. The company employs artisans from around the globe to craft their pieces, including a Panama Hat ($85; cuyana.com) made by Andean Toquilla straw weavers in co-founder Karla Gallardo's native Ecuador. You also can't go wrong with their best-selling Classic Structured Leather Tote ($195; cuyana.com), Lightweight Cashmere Scarf ($190; cuyana.com) or Baby Alpaca Square Edge Cape ($215; cuyana.com).

Lively

Comfy, quality, well fitting. What more could you want in a bra? Lively was founded by former Victoria's Secret exec Michelle Cordeiro Grant, who used her experience to create a new brand "by women, for women." Featuring a huge range of cup sizes at affordable price points, Lively aims to be more inclusive and down-to-earth than many other lingerie companies. Its Bandeau Strapless ($35; lively.com) and Busty Bralette ($35; lively.com) have amassed loyal followings.

Birchbox

The most famous beauty subscription service (starting at $10/month; birchbox.com), Birchbox was founded in 2010 by two women who wanted to "create a better way to shop for beauty products." Birchbox delivers personalized makeup, skincare and haircare samples to your door each month, so you can learn about and test new products for yourself. In 2012 the company added BirchboxMan (also starting at $10/month; birchbox.com).

Miss Jessie's

Co-founders and sisters Miko and Titi Branch named their curl-centric hair care company after their grandmother, who "would concoct all sorts of mixtures and formulas at her kitchen table to help tame and style her granddaughter's wild curly hair." After struggling to find quality products for clients in their salon, the sisters created a line of styling cremes, moisterizers and deep conditioners for a wide variety of curl types and hair textures, including the popular Pillow Soft Curls ($22.49; target.com) and Multicultural Curls ($15.99; target.com).

LunchSkins

LunchSkins was founded by Kirsten Quigley, an environmentalist and mother of four who wanted to make packing food less wasteful. The company makes high-quality, plastic-free sandwich bags ($7.99; amazon.com) in a variety of adorable prints, as well as sealable paper bags ($4.99 for a 50-count box; amazon.com). The paper bags are recyclable and compostable, while the reusable bags are dishwasher safe. The company claims just one reusable LunchSkins bag may replace 500 plastic bags over a lifetime.

Cocofloss

Cocofloss ($25 for a three pack; amazon.com) is the brainchild of sisters Chrystle and Catherine Cu, who set out to add fun to one of the day's most mundane activities. Chrystle Cu, a dentist, swapped typical "smooth and flat floss" (which the company likens to "using a plastic bag to wash your dirty dishes") with a textured floss made from hundreds of soft filaments and infused with coconut oil, essentially creating a delicate "loofah" for your teeth. In addition to classic mint, Cocofloss comes in fresh coconut, strawberry and orange scents. Yum!

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