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Design and development of low cost sanitary napkins using cotton knitwear waste
By: Bhawana Chanana
Design and development of low cost sanitary napkins using cotton knitwear waste
By: Bhawana Chanana*, Mona Suri
Readers, Department of Textiles & Clothing, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University
Introduction
The attainment of puberty in women is signified by menarche, the age of onset of menstruation. During menstruation, use of some kind of a protection in the form of a pad or napkin is mandatory. The kind of sanitary protection practised during menstruation can determine the hygiene status of a woman, which can affect her reproductive health levels.
Many feminine hygiene products are available in the Indian market, their cost ranging between Rs. 2.40 –
7.5 / napkin. With this cost profile, these products are being utilized mostly by the upper middle and highincome group women. Also, the high product cost is a major deterrent in its utilization by the people of the low-income category. A need was thus felt to develop a low cost technology for the manufacture of products for sanitary protection, utilizing textile waste materials with similar properties.
A sanitary napkin basically comprises of three layers; top layer, absorbent layer and barrier sheet. The absorbent layer is the key component of the napkin and the extent to which this layer is able to absorb and retain the fluid determines the efficiency of the napkin. This bulk layer of a napkin is a non woven web, made of hydrophilic cellulosic staple fibers like wood pulp, cotton linters, viscose etc (IS: 5405 – 1981). Most of the wood pulp used for the purpose is imported, and therefore expensive, increasing the overall cost of a sanitary napkin. Cotton is seen as a major fiber poised to replace wood pulp especially in the feminine hygiene products where ‘less bulky’ is preferred and ‘thinner is better’. The high cost of cotton is the reason why it has not been able to replace pulp
By: Bhawana Chanana
Design and development of low cost sanitary napkins using cotton knitwear waste
By: Bhawana Chanana*, Mona Suri
Readers, Department of Textiles & Clothing, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University
Introduction
The attainment of puberty in women is signified by menarche, the age of onset of menstruation. During menstruation, use of some kind of a protection in the form of a pad or napkin is mandatory. The kind of sanitary protection practised during menstruation can determine the hygiene status of a woman, which can affect her reproductive health levels.
Many feminine hygiene products are available in the Indian market, their cost ranging between Rs. 2.40 –
7.5 / napkin. With this cost profile, these products are being utilized mostly by the upper middle and highincome group women. Also, the high product cost is a major deterrent in its utilization by the people of the low-income category. A need was thus felt to develop a low cost technology for the manufacture of products for sanitary protection, utilizing textile waste materials with similar properties.
A sanitary napkin basically comprises of three layers; top layer, absorbent layer and barrier sheet. The absorbent layer is the key component of the napkin and the extent to which this layer is able to absorb and retain the fluid determines the efficiency of the napkin. This bulk layer of a napkin is a non woven web, made of hydrophilic cellulosic staple fibers like wood pulp, cotton linters, viscose etc (IS: 5405 – 1981). Most of the wood pulp used for the purpose is imported, and therefore expensive, increasing the overall cost of a sanitary napkin. Cotton is seen as a major fiber poised to replace wood pulp especially in the feminine hygiene products where ‘less bulky’ is preferred and ‘thinner is better’. The high cost of cotton is the reason why it has not been able to replace pulp
References: 1. Bacterial Analytical Manual,’ Aerobic Plate Count’, January, 2001,Chapter 3 &18 2 Microbiology’, E.D publications, Lipincott, 1997 3 May, 2002. 5. Osborn, T.W., ‘Thin, Flexible Sanitary Napkin’, US 4950264- Patent P & G, August, 1990, Cincinnati, Ohio.