*By Christian Smith*
Serial entrepreneur Miki Agrawal wants America to give up toilet paper in favor of a bracing splash of water. Her latest venture, Tushy, is attempting to put a bidet in every home.
Americans use almost 8 million tons of toilet paper a year, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Agrawal said many people don't realize the environmental problems that causes. It's one of the reasons she founded Tushy.
"For the next generation, it's really a major problem that we keep doing something that not only is not great for our health and hygiene, but really, really affects our planet," Agrawal said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar.
Tushy is Agrawal's second venture to address issues below the waist. She's best known as the co-founder of period panty company THINX. Agrawal stepped down as CEO and left the company after a former employee accused her of sexual harassment. Agrawal said that experience made her more aware of the role hiring plays in the success of a company and its culture.
"I think team dynamics are really, really important," Agrawal said. "I was really careful in the hiring process making sure that we have a diverse and sort of deep, talented team."
Tushy staged a "poop-up" shop in New York's Soho neighborhood this week to show people how to use a bidet the right way.
The company currently sells two models on [its website](https://hellotushy.com/pages/shop): The original $69 model and an upgraded "spa" version with a seat-warmer for $84. They come in white, black, blue, and pink.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/tushy-wants-to-bring-bidets-into-the-mainstream).
Darden, the parent company of chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, beat Wall Street estimates in its latest earnings report.
A former Facebook executive pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company while she was employed there.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
