Other than being a single-use product, the thing about sanitary pads is that they are dumped to rot for almost eternity or let to pollute the oceans. In the United States, there are around 20 million sanitary pads, tampons, and applicators discarded in landfills annually.
Now some University of Utah students plan to change that number by developing a 100% biodegradable sanitary pad.
Made from all-natural materials, the SHERO pad is thinner than other similar sustainable products which makes it comfortable for the wearer.
Not the actual SHERO pad. Source: Rant Chic
The creators behind this sanitary pad used a processed form of algae as the super-absorbent ingredient, so it competes with the commercial, non-biodegradable ones in terms of absorption. It is the third layer of the feminine pad.
Other layers of the sanitary pad include the raw cotton similar to a tea bag to repel liquid, which is the layer in contact to the female parts; the transfer layer of organic cotton to absorb the liquid and pull it from the outer layer, and the outermost layer that keeps the moisture inside and prevents leakage, made of a corn-based material.
Source: University of Utah
Not only that it is the first totally biodegradable sanitary pad, what’s amazing about this product is the fact that it can break down anywhere from 45 days to six months. That’s quick compared to their present commercial equivalent which takes hundreds of years to biodegrade.
Amber Barron, one-fourth of the team behind this novel invention who studies materials science and engineering, shared that there are biodegradable options out there for pads, but they do not have a superabsorbent layer hence bulky. That’s not the case for their invention.
Producing the pads is also simple. Professor Jeff Bates, leader of the research, said that it can be made easily in small villages without sophisticated tools. Common presses and grinding stones are enough.
The team behind SHERO pad revealed that it will be on sale in the U.S. within a year.
Source: University of Utah
