Svech

Svech is a sustainable sanitary napkin made from Bagasse, aimed at improving menstrual hygiene, addressing 'period poverty' in low-income areas of India.

Svech is a Fight against Period Poverty!

Period Poverty refers to a lack of access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and adequate education. 

1. According to one study, only 36% of India's 355 million menstruating females use sanitary napkins, while the rest use old rags, husk, ash, leaves, mud and soil and such other life-threatening materials to manage their flow. 

2. Millions of families across India cannot afford to buy menstrual hygiene products. For them, it's a toss-up between spending on food for the family or purchasing sanitary napkins. 

3. Another study says, at least 71% of girls in the country have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period. Menstruation remains a biological event shrouded in mystery and taboo, not to be spoken about openly. 

4. 23 Million women drop out of school every year when they start menstruating in India. In most places here, even a primary school is barely equipped with a functional toilet, let alone something as essential as sanitary napkin dispensers.

5. Last but not least, even if they could afford to use it, most of the available sanitary napkins in the market are non-biodegradable, it takes nearly 500-800 years for one sanitary napkin to decompose, which poses an environmental hazard if nothing else.

Every individual that goes through the menstruation cycle has the right to use a Sanitary Napkin. In India, let alone there are adequate resources but there are bigger problems associated with menstruation including accessibility, awareness, affordability and disposability.

Svech is a Biodegradable, Skin Friendly, Sustainable & Economical Sanitary Napkin made up of Bagasse. The napkin comprises three layers. The lower layer is made up of a non-permeable membrane, sticky from the bottom. The middle layer contains two layers of Bagasse separated by a thin netted cloth. The top layer comprises a permeable membrane that allows the fluid to pass through it but does not allow it to come out from it. This composition makes it a comfortable fit for any individual, helping them soak their menstrual flow effectively.

The raw material selected for the present investigation is bagasse (a by-product of sugarcane), abundantly available across India and worldwide. In our proposed work bagasse was processed and converted into the absorbent material and it perfectly works as a constituent for napkins because.

1. Its high availability reduces its cost, thereby reducing the cost of sanitary napkins which makes it affordable for most of the needful customer segment in the market.

2. With its high rate of compostability, Bagasse biodegrades in 30-90 days in composting conditions, leaving behind no toxic residue and creating nutrient-rich compost instead. This means that even in rural areas if the napkin is thrown in the fields, there’s no harm.

3. India produces nearly 80 million metric tonnes (MMT) of bagasse annually. The Industry continues to ponder over the utilisation of surplus bagasse in future. Some of the possibilities include the manufacture of paper, hard board, bio-plastic, disposable cup plates, 2nd generation ethanol etc. With our proposed solution we’d be able to help the sugar industry as well with a new application.

Svech primarily serves individuals in rural villages in India who undergo menstruation. In most parts of India today, various unhygienic alternatives of sanitary napkins are used that pose health hazards to the community there. A sustainable material, bagasse used in our sanitary napkins aims at improving the menstrual hygiene of Indian middle or lower-class menstruating individuals at economical prices. 

Our team is well-positioned to deliver the solution based on our diverse skills, background, and experiences.

Deeksha Dixit, the Founder, and CEO, is a public speaker and initiative taker with a background in computer science engineering. She has led and won multiple national and international hackathons and competitions, including founding FoodEx- Need To Feed, an initiative to empower the food donation chain during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Jaya Sodhani, the co-founder and Head of Production & Manufacturing, is an electronics and communication engineering student with a passion for machine development. Having leadership qualities she is also the student chair of IEEE council. A hardworking person and an opportunist she likes to participate in the hackathons.

Khushi Garg, the Design head and CMO, is an Interdisciplinary Designer with a stronghold in research and strategy making. She has previous experience working on projects related to sanitary hygiene. She has designed Branding Experience for some local and global brands alike.

Shagun Chauhan, the CFO, is a Bachelor of Business Administration(Entrepreneurship) student with experience in community development and previously worked on projects like Re-Love, a marketplace for pre-owned fashion, and Dufferz, a personalized design service.

Together, our team brings a combination of technical, design, and business expertise, as well as a passion for social causes and community development. We understand the experiences of those we serve through our own experiences with hackathons, social initiatives and project work.

We have worked as a volunteer under a Non-Governmental Organization, distributing free napkins in remote areas. We have also visited and had discussions with multiple biodegradable and non-biodegradable sanitary napkin manufacturers. Additionally, we conducted an online survey in urban areas and also conducted a survey in rural areas in-person, to gather information about their sanitary hygiene practices. We analyzed the data collected from the surveys based on social, economical, health, hygiene and awareness factors. We went back and forth our potential user segment to understand their point of view on our proposed idea which gave us better insights to iterate on the same.

Our biodegradable, sustainable, and economical sanitary napkins are innovative because they use a new extraction process of bagasse, which makes the napkins chemical-free and good for the skin. The use of bagasse as the absorbing material is unique in the market, as it is typically used in recyclable products such as cups, but not in sanitary napkins. Our product has the same absorption capacity as existing products but is available at a more economical rate.

Additionally, the developed material helps to manage biodegradability, sustainability, and absorbability, making it stand out from other products available in the market. Our napkins are biodegradable, skin-friendly, and chemical-free, providing a new and improved approach to the problem of traditional sanitary napkins not being environmentally friendly.

Overall, our solution has the potential to change the market by providing a more sustainable and economical alternative to traditional sanitary napkins. It could also enable broader positive impacts by promoting the use of environmentally friendly products and reducing the environmental impact of sanitary napkins.

Our impact goal for the next year is to bring our biodegradable, sustainable, and economical sanitary napkins to market and make them available to customers. In order to achieve this goal, we have several milestones planned for the next 6 months, including obtaining a patent for our product, manufacturing machines for production, and registering our company.

Over the next year, we will be focusing on setting up a fabrication facility and reaching out to our first customers. We aim to donate a certain number of packets of our sanitary napkins to those in need as part of our commitment to making a positive impact on people's lives. We'll install multiple vending machines on different locations making napkins available and easily accessible to all.

We will also be marketing and promoting our product through various channels, including social media and through partnerships with organizations that share our values. Additionally, we will be working on getting certifications and certifying the product as per the standards.

By achieving these goals, we believe that our solution will have a transformational impact on people's lives by providing a more sustainable and economical alternative to traditional sanitary napkins and also promoting the use of environmentally friendly products.

The core technology that powers our solution is the use of bagasse as the raw material for our sanitary napkins. Bagasse is a by-product of sugarcane and is made from the crushed stalks of sugarcane plants. It is used for making absorbent material for sanitary napkins.

The process of using bagasse as the raw material involves several steps including procurement, preparation, cutting and shaping, assembly, and packaging. These steps utilize several machines and equipment to ensure efficient and high-quality production. The machines used include a pulping machine, a drying machine, a die cutter, a bonding machine, and a packaging machine.

These machines are used to convert the crushed sugarcane into a pulp that can be used to make the absorbent material for the napkins, remove moisture from the processed pulp to create a dry, absorbent material, cut the absorbent material and backing material into the desired shape and size, bond the absorbent material and backing material together using heat, pressure or a combination of both, and package the finished napkins for shipping.

Additionally, we use various medical equipment such as gloves and masks to ensure high-quality products. We also use chemical expenses, measuring machines for making solutions, trays for drying, cutting, and grinding, cutters for base layer cutting, cutters for upper layer cutting, sprinkling for filling calculated amount of material, stamping (pressure and stitching), and moulds for structure.

In conclusion, the core technology that powers our solution is using bagasse as the raw material for our sanitary napkins, and using various machines and equipment to ensure efficient and high-quality production.

We plan to reach and serve awareness to approximately 1 lakh+ people. If by means of that awareness, the conversion rate goes 20%, we'll be able to serve people who'll use these napkins for the very first time. Additionally serving those who'll use better quality napkins than ever before. With collaboration of NGOs and other concerned organizations we'll easily be able to make this 1 lakh into 20 lakhs.

The barriers currently existing for the accomplishment of goals for a biodegradable sanitary napkin project in India in the next year are mainly cultural and market-based.

Firstly, in India, there is a taboo surrounding menstruation and women are often hesitant to openly discuss the topic. This can make it difficult to run awareness campaigns and educate people about the benefits of using biodegradable sanitary napkins.

Secondly, there is a lack of market awareness and education about the importance of using biodegradable products. This can make it difficult to sell and market the biodegradable napkins effectively.

Additionally, there may be financial barriers in terms of production and distribution costs, as well as technical barriers in terms of the availability of suitable technology for producing biodegradable napkins.