{"id":516316,"date":"2024-07-31T14:47:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T17:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=516316"},"modified":"2024-07-31T15:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T18:34:15","slug":"biodegradable-menstrual-pad-offers-a-less-polluting-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/biodegradable-menstrual-pad-offers-a-less-polluting-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"Biodegradable menstrual pad offers a less polluting alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span>Amai menstrual pads are made of organic cotton and biodegradable bioplasticL\u00e9o Ramos Chaves\u2009\/ Pesquisa Fapesp <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Menstruation is a physiological experience still clouded in taboo and inequalities, and surrounded by social, economic, sanitary, emotional, and even environmental issues. The sheer volume of plastic waste generated by disposable menstrual pads places a detrimental burden on the environment. Although several non-disposable and more sustainable menstrual products are currently available, such as reusable cups and period underwear, a new wave of designers, entrepreneurs, and startups is pioneering the development of biodegradable period supplies that pollute less while offering customers the same disposable convenience as conventional products.<\/p>\n

Many of these initiatives are also helping to address the issue of period poverty, a term used to describe a lack of access to proper menstrual products and the education needed to use them effectively. Period poverty is estimated to affect over 15 million women in Brazil. These women have limited period management options that are often detrimental to their health, social interactions, and ability to show up to work.<\/p>\n

See more:<\/strong>
\n\u2013 The challenge of period poverty<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cReusable products that require thorough cleaning won\u2019t solve the problem of period poverty in Brazil,\u201d says Patr\u00edcia Zanella, cofounder of Brazilian startup EcoCiclo. Zanella explains that a lack of sanitation in some regions of Brazil deprives women of proper personal hygiene and the ability to wash menstrual hygiene products. Last year, Zanella\u2019s company received an award from the United Nations Global Compact for its pioneering biodegradable menstrual pads.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use raw materials that are not harmful to users\u2019 health and decompose within six months,\u201d explains Zanella, who holds a degree in international relations. Chemical engineer Adriele Menezes, operations director at EcoCiclo, led the research and development of the new menstrual pads. The product is manufactured by women from underprivileged areas of Salvador using bamboo fiber, cellulose, and plant-based glue.<\/p>\n

Zanella notes that while eco-friendly options are affordable and widely advertised, women continue to use conventional disposable products. \u201cThe prevailing notion is that sustainable products are less practical, and vice versa. Our innovation offers maximum comfort and the familiar thickness, color, and absorption levels of conventional products,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

EcoCiclo\u2019s biodegradable menstrual pads come at a unit cost of R$3, up to five times higher than conventional products available in pharmacies and supermarkets. \u201cWe have yet to develop a local solution to make sustainable menstrual products cheaper than their conventional counterparts,\u201d acknowledges Rafaella de Bona Gon\u00e7alves, a product designer based in Curitiba. Gon\u00e7alves collaborated with EcoCiclo on her own prototype biodegradable menstrual pad.<\/p>\n

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Monyke Ruppel de Almeida<\/span>In addition to being used externally (left<\/em>), the menstrual pad pictured below can be split into two, rolled up, and used as a tampon (center and right<\/em>)Monyke Ruppel de Almeida<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Initially developed as part of her undergraduate thesis at the Federal University of Paran\u00e1 (UFPR), her ecological design garnered national and international accolades, including a second-place finish in the 2022 Young Inventors competition, sponsored by the European Patent Office (EPO). Gon\u00e7alves oversaw both the design of the menstrual pad and the material research, experimenting with cellulose, banana fiber, and soy foam. The startup team then developed the prototype. \u201cMy goal was to develop a proof of concept to demonstrate the feasibility of producing a menstrual pad with these characteristics,\u201d says Gon\u00e7alves, noting that the product has not yet gone to market.<\/p>\n

Her product is designed to double as a menstrual pad and a tampon. \u201cThis versatility distinguishes our design. The product can be either worn externally as a single piece or split into two parts that can be rolled into tampons.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Marta Tocchetto, a retired professor of industrial chemistry from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) in Rio Grande do Sul, and an expert in environmental sustainability and waste management, when comparing product costs, manufacturers rarely take environmental factors into account. Polyethylene and polypropylene, prevalent in most conventional menstrual pads, are plastic polymers derived from nonrenewable and polluting fossil resources such as petroleum. Studies have shown that plastic absorbents can take up to 500 years to decompose in nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter disposal, the plastic breaks down into microplastics \u2014 small polymer fragments that are harmful to the environment,\u201d notes Tocchetto (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP issues 281<\/a> and 332<\/a><\/em>). \u201cTo make matters worse, less than half of Brazilian cities have urban landfills designed to properly process the plastics found in disposable menstrual pads.\u201d<\/p>\n

A research project at the Polytechnic School at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (POLI-USP) estimated the environmental impact caused by menstrual pads in Brazil. The authors found that if the roughly 60 million women who menstruate in the country used disposable products during their menstrual cycles, around 15 billion plastic-based menstrual pads would be discarded annually in Brazil. As highlighted in their article, \u201cAn\u00e1lise de ciclo de vida de coletores menstruais e absorventes externos descart\u00e1veis\u201d (Lifecycle analysis of menstrual cups and disposable menstrual pads), in addition to generating significant waste, menstrual pads are often flushed down toilets, potentially causing plumbing blockages.<\/p>\n

Some countries already have flushable period pads on the market, such as Fluus, a biodegradable menstrual pad available in the UK. It decomposes upon contact with water and within the sewage system. According to the manufacturer, even the packaging and adhesive tapes can be disposed of in the toilet. Made from plant fibers, biopolymers, and tree sap, it is sold for \u00a30.50 (approximately R$3) per unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n \n \n \n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso \/ Revista Pesquisa FAPESP<\/span><\/div>
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Companies like Srising from Shanghai, China, and Niine from Haryana, India, have also introduced biodegradable menstrual pads in recent years, made with polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymer produced from corn, beets, or cassava. In the US, Pee Safe sells menstrual pads made with organic cotton and bamboo fiber. However, all biodegradable menstrual products are currently more expensive than their conventional counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no one-size-fits-all menstrual hygiene product. Those who are able to wash and sterilize menstrual cups [small silicon cups to collect menstrual blood] should consider using them,\u201d says Tocchetto. Different situations may call for different solutions. \u201cWe need to consider multiple options, whether it\u2019s biodegradable menstrual pads, cloth pads, or period underwear. The most suitable choice will depend on each person\u2019s lifestyle, needs, and life stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was to address a personal need that Luri Minami cofounded the S\u00e3o Paulo-based startup amai together with Erika Tomihama. Amai is a brand of menstrual pads made with certified organic cotton and biodegradable bioplastic, sold on the company\u2019s website. \u201cA few years ago, I developed an allergy to regular menstrual pads and discovered that, contrary to what I thought, it wasn’t my fault for not changing the pad frequently or anything like that. The problem was in the material. Although the packaging read \u201ccotton,\u201d it wasn\u2019t actually made of cotton,\u201d says Minami. Doctors typically recommend changing external absorbents every four hours on average, depending on menstrual flow.<\/p>\n

The physical discomfort they experienced with regular pads and their shared desire to make a positive impact led Minami and Tomihama to start their own research to develop a disposable pad that was both healthier and more sustainable. \u201cThe technical specifications were refined with our supplier, a partner in China, where our product is now being produced. Throughout the development process, we conducted hundreds of tests with women in Brazil,\u201d explains Minami. Amai donates 1% of its sales to the S\u00e3o Paulo-based NGO Fluxo Sem Tabu, which distributes hygiene kits to underprivileged communities and provides education about menstruation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top part, which comes into contact with the vulva, is made of cotton; the middle layer is made of chlorine-free cellulose to prevent skin irritation; and the bottom part, near the underwear, is made of biodegradable bioplastic,\u201d she elaborates. This final component is a combination of two biodegradable biopolymers, one derived from cornstarch (PLA) and the other from petroleum (PBAT).<\/p>\n

While they represent a less polluting option compared to conventional products, biodegradable pads can still have adverse environmental impacts, ranging from the cultivation, extraction, and production of raw materials to the disposal of their components. \u201cBiodegradable alternatives are not flawless solutions, as there may be issues like deforestation, improper pesticide use, labor exploitation, among other concerns, associated with their production process,\u201d cautions Tocchetto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Decomposing in up to six months, biodegradable menstrual products can help to reduce plastic waste and pollution","protected":false},"author":748,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4722],"class_list":["post-516316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/748"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516316"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":527227,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516316\/revisions\/527227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516316"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=516316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}