Indian entrepreneurs seek to beat plastic pollution with biodegradable sanitary pads

Two entrepreneurs in India, Kristin Kagetsu, 28, and TarunBothra, 26, have teamed up to form Saathi pads, a start-up that produces biodegradable sanitary pads, targeted mainly at rural women.

In India, 84 per cent of women lack access to sanitary pads. Even among the few who use them, many do not have alternatives for reducing plastic waste. On average, every woman using sanitary pads contributes 60 kilogrammes of pad waste in her lifetime, generating 100,000 tonnes of waste annually.

According to UN Environment, Saathi pads set out to improve the lives of women without creating a negative environmental impact. Their pads are 100 per cent biodegradable, made from banana fibres, which are strong, abundant and absorbent. Unlike wood pulp or cotton, banana fibre is an agricultural by-product, so it does not take up extra land. The pads do not contain bleach and use eco-friendly adhesive.

“Women are forced to use rags, cloths and even mud to stem menstrual bleeding, which exposes them to a high risk of infection,” Brotha told UN Environment. “Improvised alternatives are uncomfortable, unreliable and not very absorbent, making a day at work or school while on a period very difficult to manage.”

“Plastic pads take hundreds of years to degrade, and worse, are frequently burned generating toxic fumes including carbon dioxide,” noted Bothra. “As sanitary pad usage increases in India, access to affordable, biodegradable, non-toxic pads is essential. The pads degrade within three to six months of disposal – 1,200 times faster than conventional pads,” he said.

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“People don’t understand why we are taking a biodegradable product into rural areas,” said Kagetsu. “But sanitary waste affects these communities more directly, because they are using the land to grow food. The waste seriously impacts what they drink and eat.”

The pads are also competitively priced. Commercial plastic pads can cost up to 27 US cents per pad. Other eco-friendly versions sell for between 52 to 80 cents per pad. Saathi pads retail at 30 cents per pad. “Some products claim to be biodegradable, but they are not 100 per cent so,” said Bothra. “Others may use organic cotton for one layer, but still contain plastic and other chemicals.”

Saathi pads launched sales in 2017 and currently, sells their pads on their website, and will soon be available in supermarkets. Saathi pads have already reached thousands of women and aim to increase access to sanitary pads for 1.5 million women by 2023.