Development of Cost-Effective Menstrual Absorbent Pad with Eco-Friendly Antimicrobial Finish

Abstract

Management of menstrual hygiene is a critical problem for Bangladeshi women and girls as the sanitary pads are expensive. Therefore, purchasing sanitary napkins for incredibly poor and middle-class families is very challenging. Many retail sanitary napkins are available on the local market, but most of them are costly. However, poor women’s are unable to purchase or use high-quality sanitary napkins. Thus, a maximum of nine sanitary napkin pad samples with very cheap raw materials (natural fibres) have been produced in this study. Newly manufactured products even undergo antimicrobial treatment with natural antimicrobial agents such as Tulshi and Aloe Vera accompanied by a simple production process, which ultimately makes the product cheaper and safer for the consumer during use. A maximum of nine samples were produced and compared with commercial samples for cost analysis. The primary objective of this research is to develop such a kind of sanitary napkin that will be cheaper as well as user-friendly in contrast to commercial samples. More interestingly, poor women are not used to wear underwear, because of which they are not interested in using pads as commercial sanitary napkins; panty or other underwear is required. For this reason, an adjustable waistband support is used in this experiment to easily attach the sanitary napkin without any gum. Since menstruation is directly linked to the human reproductive process, it is important for women and girls to manage menstruation appropriately. In addition, the material (especially sanitary napkin core forming materials) used in commercial sanitary napkins is synthetic and may lead to accelerated growth of bacteria and germs by long term use of the pad. The goal of this research was to construct an inexpensive sanitized pad that was treated with Aloe Vera and Tulshi extract. Tulshi and Aloe Vera modified non-woven fabrics incorporate antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Therefore, as it can be used without undergarments, sanitary napkin is not only hygienic but also inexpensive and comfortable with effective protection against leakage. Findings demonstrate the newly developed prototype's substantial design and cost-effectiveness.