NEW DELHI: To counter the environmental hazard posed by about 12.3 billion disposable, non-biodegradable sanitary napkins every year, a start-up founded by IIT students has come up with reusable pads.
According to Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India (MHAI), there are almost 336 million menstruating women in India, of whom 36 per cent use disposable sanitary pads summing up to 121 million.
These sanitary napkins are made of synthetic materials and plastic, which can take more than 50-60 years to decompose, said Archit Aggarwal, founder of Sanfe and B.Tech student at IIT-Delhi.
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“We have created these (pads) using banana fibre, terry, polyester pilling, and cotton. “It gives a dry experience throughout the day time. Viscose and polyester fibres are highly absorbent.
The pad has a breathable layer of Cotton Polyurethane Laminate, which has water-resistant properties and gives leak-proof experience,” Aggarwal said.
He said trials were done at third party laboratories and the absence of bacteria was proven. “Any kind of irritant that can cause rashes were absent,” he said.
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He said these would be made available at retail stores soon and till then women can place orders online on website.
African countries, including Kenya and Tanzania, and the UN bodies have adapted to reusable pads and started distributing the pads to school girls. “They have created it with material used for towels...basically cotton which is not enough. We have received queries from them and we have participated in the UN tenders and got positive response.
“We would be manufacturing the products here itself to export it to these countries,” he said, adding that banana fibres were being imported from south India.
“The government and NGOs regularly distribute subsidized disposable sanitary napkins in rural areas. We urge these organizations to switch to Reusable Pads under our #IBleedGreen movement and can save up to 75% of the cost,” he said.