100% Biodegradable Sanitary Pads

In India, 84% of women lack access to sanitary napkins. In the absence of proper menstrual protection, many women resort to using rags and cloths and even ash, bark and sand to stem menstrual bleeding, which exposes them to a high risk of infection. Women who use cloth are often not able to properly sterilize them because of societal taboos against washing and drying them in public. Improvised alternatives to pads are also uncomfortable, unreliable and lack adequate absorbency - making it very difficult for women to manage work or school day while on their period. The key problems Saathi addresses are to provide a hygienic, effective alternative to improve the lives of these women without creating any negative environmental impact. This is most significant; the small percentage of Indian women using sanitary pads today already generates 100,000+ tons of sanitary pad waste each year - a figure that could rise to 1,000,000+ tons if disposable pads were used by women of menstruating age