Sustainable solutions for a healthy period
This World Conservation Day (July 28), let’s talk about sustainable sanitary products for women and their right to bleed with dignity.
“A report by WaterAid mentioned that India has close to 12.3 billion disposable sanitary napkins to take care of every year, majority of which are not biodegradable/ compostable. On an average, a menstruator uses around 21,000 pads in her lifetime which could be around 200 kg of avoidable waste,” informs action network fellow at Youth ki Awaaz, Nitisha Pandey. “Changing behaviours and mindsets is a slow and steady process. One of the ways to go about it is to create spaces for awareness and action with the youth in communities — both rural and urban,” she adds.
In rural and urban slums, there is always a struggle to arrange the next meal, let alone think about spending money on something which is considered unnatural and bad. “Even in the urban slums of places like Mumbai, women are not aware about pads or menstrual hygiene,” says social worker Anurag Chauhan of the WASH project by NGO Humans for Humanity. Stigmas, combined with financial restraints, further add to the neglected state of menstrual health. “In order to save money, these women do not change pads for six-seven hours, leading to problems. Forget about bamboo-based organic pads, when these women can’t even afford regular pads worth ₹30,” informs Chauhan.
As part of the project, his team conducts workshops . “Instead of only distributing pads, we teach these women to make cloth pads,” he adds. The project is active in six states and has employed women from the villages. Reusable cloth pads last up to 2-2.5 years and come as part of a kit that has a soap bar. “These pads can be made at home and washed with soap and disinfectant,” he says.
Reusable alternatives like menstrual cups are environment-friendly, but remain a relatively unexplored product. “Reusable menstrual alternatives are costeffective. Using a sustainable menstrual alternative could bring down the investment in sanitary products by approximately 60% annually,” shares Pandey.
Gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Aruna Kalra says that while these reusable alternatives offer eco-friendly solutions, certain precautions must be kept in mind while using these. “Menstrual cups made with silicon or rubber are reusable. They should be emptied after every 4-12 hours and washed properly with clean water. It is important to find the right size ,” she says.
Bamboo and other plantbased sanitary pads do not come cheap, whereas the commercial ones are full of harmful chemicals. Dr. Kalra advocates the use of cottonbased cloth pads. “They are reusable and more breathable than regular sanitary pads. They are easy on the skin and do not cause allergic reactions. There are less chances of pelvic infection or urinary tract infection (UTI),” she advises.