Business

Birla Cellulose Teams Up With GoNatura To Create Sustainable Sanitary Pads

Birla Cellulose has teamed up with GoNatura, a Bengaluru-based sanitary pad manufacturer to produce cost-effective and environment-friendly sanitary napkins, using viscose-based Purocel EcoDry fibre as a top-sheet. The aim of the tie-up is to overcome the environmental consequences of global consumption of plastic-based single use sanitary pads and curbing the ecological damage through plastic-free natural sanitary pads available at an affordable price. According to a study conducted by the Indian government, 121 million women use sanitary napkins in the country, and that multiplied by eight pads per cycle amounts to 1 billion pads per month and a staggering 12 billion pads each year which take hundreds of years to decompose. The disposal of such plastic napkins has become a big matter of concern in the country and across the world. This is where Purocel Ecodry, a highly sustainable and environmentally friendly fibre from Birla Cellulose, plays a key role. Derived from wood pulp, Purocel Ecodry has been specially developed to make bio-degradable sanitary pads. Rahul Bansal (AVP, Sales & Marketing – Non-woven, Birla Cellulose) said, “Our primary objective behind the collaboration with GoNatura is to potentially avoid non-biodegradable waste and produce environmentally responsible hygiene products. This can be achieved by crafting a layer by layer approach to make a fully biodegradable sanitary napkin so we can showcase our pioneering efforts in filling the gap and addressing the need-state of a brand that produces environmentally responsible hygiene products. We believe in not only making menstruation a comfortable phase of life for women of the country but also help save the environment and this can be achieved by the adoption of ‘green’ products in ushering a sustainable menstrual ecosystem in India.” Purocel Ecodry, a specialty viscose staple fibre, is perfectly suited for super soft nonwoven applications like sanitary pads. The fibre is sustainable and fully biodegradable in nature, making it possible to have eco-friendly hygiene products meeting required performance. Additionally, the hydrophilic properties present in the fibre has been carefully utilised to get the desired properties in the top sheet application of AHP’s like sanitary pads. Kavitha Prakash (Founder & CEO), GoNatura, said, “With the aim of transforming the consumption of intimate hygiene products for women through emphasis on plastic-free natural sanitary pads and making them accessible to the women of the country, we are trying to reduce the plastic waste from earth by educating girls to switch to natural and sustainable GoNatura sanitary pads. Our innovation with Purocel EcoDry is not only carefully designed to create an optimum level of eco-friendly hygiene product but also fulfilling our mission towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.”