Sanitary pad from banana fibre project dogged by fund crunch

Cheap, sustainable and eco-friendly sanitary pads made from banana trunk fibre can ensure safe periods and potentially be a gamechanger for women and girls in Bangladesh who skip work or school during menstruation.

Every year, millions of women and girls in developing and poor countries miss out on various opportunities as they cannot afford costly period products, the most common being sanitary pads. This forces them to turn to unhygienic alternatives that expose them to various health hazards.

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns exacerbated the situation, hitting the people’s income and intensifying period poverty for women and girls already struggling to meet their menstrual needs even before the current crisis. The situation has been worse for members of the marginalised and backward communities.

Cheaper, eco-friendly and healthy

Bangladeshi entrepreneur Rony Raihan says he has been working on cheap and eco-friendly sanitary pads from banana trunk fibre to ensure that women and girls can manage their menstruation safely and hygienically.

“The thought occurred when I was working with my friend on making diapers from banana fibre,” he said. “We designed and made our own machines. That cost a lot.”

Raihan, co-founder of Banana Fibre Bangladesh, said their first users were their families and friends and they modified the pads based on their feedback.

“The pads are biodegradable and pose no health risks unlike plastic-based ones,” he told The Business Post.

Health experts have raised concerns over problems associated with the use of plastic-based sanitary napkins. They say there are high chances of getting fungal and pelvic infections which can cause allergies and irritation in the vaginal area.

Most of the sanitary napkins, which take around 500-800 years to biodegrade, are thrown in the garbage, or dumped in water bodies or sometimes burnt – all of them end up harming the environment.

“Banana fibre is more absorbent than chemical products used in regular sanitary pads and the users said they are surprisingly soft and don’t irritate skin,” Raihan said.

Potential gamechanger

A 2018 World Bank study found that a staggering 77 per cent of Bangladeshi women did not use appropriate menstrual materials, leaving them vulnerable to various health complications.

There are ventures in various countries, such as India, making cheap pads from available alternatives like banana fibre but they hold a very small share in the global sanitary napkin market which had a value of $23.63 billion in 2020. Statista has projected the market to reach $28 billion within this year.

Raihan said theirs was the only known initiative in Bangladesh to make cheap and eco-friendly sanitary pads from banana fibre.

Women from the low and middle-income groups were their target customers. “We made the pads keeping their situation in mind,” he said, adding that the response had been “encouraging”.

Each pad cost around Tk 3.5 – much lower than the sanitary napkins available in the local market, he said.

Raihan said their plan for commercial production had been held back by financial constraints but they are determined to restart the project “as soon as possible”.

“In a country where period products are more like luxury items, this could be a catalyst for ensuring safe periods and menstrual hygiene at an affordable cost,” Raihan said.