by Anusha Kapoor, Project Assistant at Badlaav SRF
The average menstruator throws out an estimated 250-300 pounds of pads, plugs, and applicators in their lifetime. Unfortunately, these either clog sewage drains or find space in overflowing landfills and could lie there for up to 800 years until they decompose. This way, it turns toxic and hazardous to human health and could further human contact with microorganisms and pathogens.
While we often talk about making sanitary napkins available at affordable prices in rural areas, how many of us have talked about switching to eco-friendly products during menstruation? ‘Green Menstruation’ has caught the eye of several menstruators around the world, a few of whom have come up with brilliant environmentally sustainable products for menstrual hygiene management. A few of these products are the menstrual cup, the reusable pad, and the eco-friendly sanitary napkin.
The Menstrual Cup
As sustainable menstruation becomes a topic of interest and discussion, the menstrual cup has gained the attention of the urban menstruator. Based on the fundament of being inserted into the vaginal canal and staying inside by creating suction, it collects menstrual blood with no leaks on the outside.
The Menstrual Cup is cost-effective and affordable. Its make-up comprises health-grade, non-toxic, and non-allergic silicone, a highly durable material that makes it last for at least 8-10 years. While using the synthetic pad would’ve generated high amounts of potentially toxic waste, the menstrual cup, after usage, would only require a quick clean-up, generating no menstrual waste. The usage of a menstrual cup reduces the burden on landfills while reducing the monthly expenditure on the purchase of menstrual products as well. This makes it a great investment.
A few Indian brands promoting the menstrual cup are Sirona, Rustic Art, Boondh and Safecup:
- Sirona is an award-winning Indian brand committed to addressing intimate and menstrual hygiene issues that aren’t discussed adequately in our country. One of the many products they sell is the menstrual cup. Available in a variety of sizes, it is supposed to last for up to 12 hours without any odour or rashes.
- Rustic Art is an organic, natural, vegan, and cruelty-free brand started in 2010, sustainably manufacturing products ranging from home care to personal hygiene. Rustic Art promotes ‘green menstruation’ through menstrual cups to create awareness regarding its advantages over other sanitary products in the market. Their production, in turn, generates employment for rural women through stitching and packaging.
- Boondh is an enterprise that makes available menstrual cups in Indian at affordable prices, ensuring great quality and comfort. Going ahead, Boondh plans to diversify into enhancing education on the aspects of menstrual health management, developing sustainable products relating to hormonal and psychological health, and reaching more communities.
- Safecup, another major Indian brand designing and manufacturing its menstrual cups in the USA, guarantees perfect quality and can provide a first timer with assistance. The rim of the cup is enhanced to ensure that the cup is sealed to prevent any leaks, and a perforated grip makes it easy to pull the cup out.
The major hurdles to the usage of the menstrual cup have been the inhibitions and the taboo surrounding it. Most menstruators are uncomfortable with the fact that a menstrual product would require insertion into the body. However, this would only be a step in the process of knowing our bodies and our flow better. Prior to its usage, be sure to consult with your gynaecologist for an ‘all-clear’!
Back To The Basics: Reusable Pads
In an attempt to reduce the amount of menstrual waste generated every day, initiatives and start-ups like EcoFemme and Shomota Women have taken up a bold move to go back to the usual ‘kapda’ or cloth.
- EcoFemme, based in Auroville, a hub for innovators and changemakers, is a women-led enterprise founded in 2010. Their goal is to create environmental and social change by revitalizing menstrual practices, including training the facilitators and providing menstruation-centred education to young girls. They produce and sell washable cloth pads made of organic cotton, comprising layers that are ultra-absorbent and leakproof.
- Shomota is an Indian brand giving the sustainable menstruator another choice for reusable cloth pads. Breaking down the barriers of gender inequality by training women from the marginalized communities of Kolkata, Shomota brings empowering menstrual products to the front. For every Shomota Pad purchased, Shomota’s ‘Pads for Empowerment Program’ provides marginalized women with pads for a healthy and sustainable way to care for their period.
However, questions have been raised about the hygienic aspect of the reusable pad. The cloth pad needs to be boiled often to kill any residual bacteria, making it a product requiring high maintenance. Since the cloth pads need to be dried in the sunlight after washing, it might not be suitable in areas and around people who still consider menstruation shameful.
The plight of the Rohingya women in North Delhi, for example, puts forth a similar argument. The taboo around menstruation has led them to dry their menstrual cloths in dim spaces with no sunlight or people around, furthering the issues of hygiene.
Revamping The Sanitary Napkin
The Eco-friendly Sanitary Napkin is a perfect alternative for the usual plastic sanitary napkin. Unlike the conventional pads that do not degrade, thereby creating sanitary waste management issues, the eco-friendly sanitary pad is made up of completely biodegradable materials like corn and bamboo. The corn starch makes the pads remarkably gentle and irritation-free, and the bamboo fibre is naturally absorbent, anti-bacterial, & odour-resistant.
Some Indian brands selling the naturally produced sanitary napkin are Carmesi and Heyday:
- Carmesi, founded in 2017, is a brand offering premium, all-natural sanitary napkins made using natural ingredients like corn and bamboo. Made without the use of any harmful synthetics or chemicals like sulphates, parabens, and chlorine, the pad keeps your body healthy, safe, and infection-free. The pads come with a chic resealable disposable bag, completely biodegradable as well, attending to the need for clean and sure disposal of the pad.
- Heyday was launched in 2017 with its innovative personal care products. From product to packaging, Heyday products are biodegradable, decomposing under the action of microorganisms in the air, water, or soil within two years from the disposal. Their sanitary napkins are made from natural corn and bamboo fibres with no chemicals, chlorine and dioxin bleach.
With our world held on pause in this current state of crisis, taking time to understand the implications our everyday life has on the Earth is quite essential. While menstruation is inevitable, something that almost half the world’s population goes through, it is essential to understand how we can lessen the load on our immediate environment whilst also having our needs met. While a few menstruators might not be comfortable or even aware of sustainable menstrual products, it is important to understand what a big difference it could make to switch to an eco-friendly product for menstruation.
Here at Badlaav, Radhika, Munira and Rosalie, swear by the menstrual cup. They use it regularly and assert that the cup has made their periods more manageable and easier!