Mangaluru: A lot of awarness has been created on personal hygiene for women and a huge section of women have been opting for sanitary pads. These pads available in market come with fancy claims, but they have a flipside to them. Apart from health issues, one more cause of concern of using these napkins is the environmental issues.
However, taking the personal hygiene to another level and also making the sanitary pads environment-friendly, the students of SDM Institute of Technology, Ujire have initiated an unique bio-degradable sanitary napkin unit.
Guided by none other than Sri Kshethra Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade and his wife Hemavathi Heggade, the sanitary pad making unit ‘Raksha’ was inaugurated on May 21, 2019. The unit has already prepared 300 sample pieces of this napkin and this undoubtedly is the first time that an institution is taking up such an initiative.
Any ordinary napkin available in the market will have polypropylene sheets, which can be detrimental to the environment. Raksha napkins have done away with the polypropylene sheets and have instead opted for no-woven fabrics. For absorption, they have used gel sheets, wood pulp and sap sheet. Even the lower cover is make out of plant-based plastic derived from plant starch, making ‘Raksha’ a completely eco-friendly product. The napkins have passed the tests laid down by the Indian Standard Code for various aspects such as absorption, thickness, length and width.
The college has already distributed the samples to its own students and very soon it hopes to take the product to rural students. The college has plans to install vending machines at various places.
Along with the social cause, the college has another intention of giving tips to its students to get knowledge about startup companies. through this biodegradable sanitary napkin, the college is helping the engineering student understand how a startup company can be set up and how it ca be run.
Speaking to newskarnataka.com SDM Engineering College Principal Dr Ashok Kumar said, “Raksha biodegradable napkin is user-friendly and also eco-friendly. Thi product completely prevents the user from skin allergies and issues. The napkin unit is also providing first-hand knowledge to the students about starting a venture, producing the product and marketing the same,” he said.
The SDMIT is backed by the SDM Students Cooperative Society and together, the institution is marching towards bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of the rural women.
