How This Startup Is Championing The Cause Of Menstrual Hygiene And Sustainability With Its Products

The Woman's Company is a Delhi-based startup that began on March 8, 2020, on Women's Day by Anika Parashar. The green company sells only biodegradable women's hygiene products for deep care for the environment. Parashar, the founder of the company, started the venture with the vision of offering biodegradable, sustainable and environment-friendly products to women for a better living via sanitary napkins, menstrual cups, tampons, razors, and stand and pee urination devices. The company aims at gifting women an intimate platform to call their own, to make them a little more comfortable, secure, healthy, and loved, so they can go out and face their fears and live their dreams.

Menstrual Health And Well-Being

While talking to The Logical Indian, Anika Parashar, the company's founder said, "I left my previous job because I wanted to sort things out in my personal life. At that point, I was also thinking about moving forward professionally, and I was convinced that if I did something, it would be in the field of women's health and well-being. My daughter was reaching puberty, and I thought of ways in which it could become a pleasant process for her".

The Woman's Company began with one question, "Do the current market caterings cater to every need of a woman's life cycle?". The answer to this question was obvious for Anika. Most companies sold standard products for women ranging from 12 to 45 years. When they started with women hygiene products, the most shocking discovery was that several women hygiene products are loaded with chemicals, which are all the more harmful for the women and the environment. Single-use products do even more damage to the environment because they are made from inorganic, non-biodegradable material, which will be left in landfills for centuries to come.

Eco-Friendly Products At One Stop

While explaining about the products, Anika tells The Logical Indian, "We have three types of sanitary pads: day pads, night pads and teen pads. The teen pads are designed for young girls, and they are slimmer, smaller and more comfortable. I wanted my daughter to know that her period journey would be easy and normal, and not difficult for the next 35-40 years". Moreover, the company offers panty liners, menstrual cups and tampons for women to choose what is the most comfortable. The company also provides urination devices, a hot pack and a compassionate pad.

The hot pack is made of wheat and organic muslin to ensure that women do not stick to any medicines or anything that has chemicals to relieve their pain. Secondly, the compassionate pad is designed for women who undergo pregnancy loss. When she was working for women's health before this venture, she knew that several women who have had miscarriages tend to not talk about their loss. So, all the compassionate pads are packed in a special envelope which talks about an emotion the woman might be going through.

While several other companies provide menstrual health and hygiene products for women, a few go a step ahead to ensure that their customers do not feel alone. Women health and hygiene, if ignored, can lead to catastrophic results. Till today, only 57.6 per cent of women in the country use sanitary napkins, and 23 million girls drop out of school every year after attaining puberty.

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