Women-owned and operated menstrual hygiene companies have sprouted up over the last few years. These women founders understand what someone who menstruates needs. Because of that, exciting new innovations are available, like reusable tampon applicators, disposable menstrual discs, and organic cotton tampons. Among many such women entrepreneurs, Shripriya’s story is truly remarkable in its own way as she seeks to give a convenient and eco-friendly alternative for women to choose sustainable menstruation products.
With the motive to reduce period poverty and grow awareness in the society, Shripriya Khaitan Dhelia founded ‘Fabpad’ during the pandemic.
Shripriya, a fashion designer from Kolkata had a mission when starting her enterprise: reduce the stigma surrounding menstruation and increase access to menstrual products for women across the nation.
According to a health survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from 2015-16, 57.6% of women in India use sanitary napkins instead of cloth or other products. The majority of them are found in urban areas.
But in rural parts of the country, local health workers say there is still work to be done around menstrual rights and access to useful products.
In rural areas, one in five girls drops out of school after they start menstruating, according to research done by both Nielsen and Plan India in 2014.
Considering the above mentioned facts in mind, Shripriya Khaitan Dhelia has started her enterprise to create a range of menstrual hygiene products like organic sanitary pads, menstrual cups, period panties to name a few. She has also distributed sanitary pads to approximately 10 thousand women free of cost.
Shripriya Khaitan has studied fashion designing in London. After this she came to India in 2011. Thereafter she has worked on different projects.
Sripriya says that the struggle to access sanitary napkins continues beyond school. I also wanted to work in the direction to tackle socio-economic and environmental problems associated with menstrual health and awareness in rural India.
In the year 2020, Shripriya started making her dream a reality. She prepared some organic sanitary pads with high durability and distributed them in different parts of the country through some NGOs. After a few days, her campaign started getting support and many people demanded to make pads at commercial level as well. Then she realized that it also has a good scope in terms of business. After this she talked to her friend Upasana and started her venture ‘Fabpad’ in August 2020.
In addition to creating a positive impact on the planet, FabPad has also empowered women from low-income communities. Through their ‘Project Padma’, FabPad partners with women from disadvantaged backgrounds to stitch and sell cloth pads. For every 25 pads sold, FabPad donates 1 pad to economically disadvantaged girls. They also partner with like-minded NGOs to organise workshops on Menstrual Health with a goal to encourage open conversations around menstruation through awareness and education. Through Project Padma, FabPad has till date distributed 10,000 sanitary pads and empowered 5000+ women.
Sripriya says that women have to change pads frequently during periods. There is also the problem of leakage. Sometimes women use dirty and old clothes due to lack of pads. This leads to a risk of many diseases. Keeping all these points in mind, we have designed different types of pads. These are pads that can be easily cleaned and used over and over again. This does not pose a risk of infection. Its durability is four years. It also has a water proof material to absorb leakages. The special thing is that even if it is thrown away after use, it is not harmful to the environment. It can be easily decomposed. Similarly, arrangements have been made to absorb water in diapers made for children. If we talk about period panties, then it is made of organic cotton. It is completely leakage proof. It is reusable, can be used for 3-4 years. Its price is Rs 599.
But that’s not all. Shripriya ensures that her products are not just sustainably made but also uplifts and empowers women. FabPad’s entire workforce consists of women from rural communities around Kolkata. “We wanted to find a way to empower the women in rural areas and the only way was to make them self-sufficient,” says Shripriya. After training her 70-member team of women to make these products, FabPad also gave them the opportunity to sell the pads among the people of their community.
