World Menstrual Hygiene Day: Take care of your hygiene health

It is no secret that crises worsen situations and widen the chasms that divide the society. The world goes into survival mode and focus resets on things that are "the most important" to the majority. When employment and daily sustenance come into question, who'd think of menstruation issues?

Yet, this does not take away from the fact that there are women across the country and the world, who are suffering for the want of better menstrual solutions and care.

Access to menstrual hygiene is a basic right for women and should be treated so at all times - even more so during a pandemic. Sirona, a brand focusing on menstrual hygiene have raised funds for free distribution of sanitary products and has been conducting social programs to benefit the underprivileged.

Deep Bajaj, CEO and co-founder, Sirona shares, " It all started with our first unique product – PeeBuddy, (India's 1st Female Urination Device that enables women to stand & pee in unfriendly toilets). The idea for this was born on a road trip in 2013 due to my wife's and her friends' encounters with dirty toilets – though I had observed this issue during days at event management too (portable toilets can never be kept clean). Likewise, for period-cramps that my wife would go through, hot water bottles and pain killers had their own challenges. As a solution to this, we came up with India's 1st Feminine Pain Relief Patches. It would help women sleep and work better. Disposal of sanitary pads/tampons/diapers on the go was a big challenge and hence Sirona introduced India's 1st oxo-biodegradable disposal bags for clean and hygienic disposal of used sanitary products."

After this, as per their customers concerns, they started offering sustainable and menstrual flow products for which they introduced natural and chemical free products. They have also introduced India's 1st Coloured Biodegradable pads.

He further adds, "When we started out, we faced a lot of resistance from retailers, because of the stigma around feminine intimate and toilet hygiene. What is our star product today (PeeBuddy), did not have a place in the offline market, simply because of the word 'pee' on it. But the ecommerce that is more dynamic, welcomed us with open arms. The online channel brought us closer to our target audience. Our innovative products come with the promise of fixing critical intimate hygiene problems that women face daily."

As reflected by their sales, more women are adopting menstrual cups than earlier. They are realising the benefits of menstrual cups that offer longer, leak-proof protection and prove to be far more economical in the long run.

Sirona has been conducting menstrual cup distribution drives in rural areas across India and the world with the help of local groups and healthcare professionals, who help women adopt the cup. They identify reusable menstrual cup as the most economical, eco-friendly, and hygienic solution to managing periods. So far, they have observed that the cup has solved a lot of menstrual hygiene issues for rural women. Thoughtful innovation that promotes sustainability across all sections of society is the way forward.

Ways to celebrate menstrual hygiene day

• Normalize conversation around periods by encouraging the ones who would not talk about it usually.

• Get the periods-related changemakers to share their journey and impact.

• Design and execute campaigns where non-menstruators take the effort to understand the issues faced by menstruators.

• Work closely with the organizations that impact the menstrual hygiene policies and advocacy.

• Encourage women to speak on the topic.