An innovation for eco-friendly feminine products

Bamboo pulp being treated with chemicals for use in the production of sanitary napkins, at the manufacturing unit of the Nagaland Bamboo Research Centre in Dimapur. (RIGHT) The band-aid manufacturing machine at the unit. (Morung Photos)

Dimapur | November 19  : Talk about innovation – bamboo pulp is now being used in the manufacture of sanitary napkins as absorbing material instead of regular absorbents. Perhaps one of the first in India, the Nagaland Bamboo Research Centre has set up a bamboo pulp sanitary napkin manufacturing unit in Dimapur. The unit was set up in March this year and is reported to be the brainchild of the team leader of the Nagaland Bamboo Mission, Norman Pfusure, Commissioner and Secretary for Urban Development in Nagaland. The product is currently in the research and designing stage.
Using bamboo pulp as an absorbent is, however, not an entirely new concept. China, the largest producers of bamboo in the world, uses bamboo to manufacture almost everything and anything. And using bamboo pulp in sanitary napkins has been around for decades in China. In India too, a few pharmaceutical companies are in the process of using bamboo pulp in sanitary napkins, which is said to have high anti-bacterial qualities. The National Mission on Bamboo Applications, a technology mission of the Indian government under the department of Science and Technology, is also supporting a project in the manufacture of bamboo pulp napkins.
The sanitary napkin unit in Dimapur is well-equipped with machineries used for manufacturing sanitary napkins. The manufacturing is done under strict hygienic conditions and goes through several stages of production. In the first stage, bamboo chip is mixed with water plus chemicals and sent for digestive pulp washing. The next stage includes bleaching the pulp with bleaching powder and sodium chloride, which is sent into the washing and hydro extractor.  The next step involves sun drying and oven drying, after which it is finally compressed into absorbent layers.
With the absorbent compressed and moulded into form, it is then covered in a polythene and non-woven sheet and released for cutting. The hygienic napkins are then sealed with adhesive and perfumed before send for packing. The napkins are reportedly marketable but the government is finding no takers, as of now, in holding the enterprise. An official of the NBRC said that the government is also planning to tie up with the National Rural Health Mission to provide napkins to people in rural areas who cannot afford to buy them. The sanitary napkins are packed in a bag of ten pieces. Apart from being eco-friendly, the bamboo pulp sanitary napkin is likely to cost cheaper too.
The unit also has a band-aid manufacturing machine which produces the medicated wound dressing material. Like the manufacture of sanitary napkin, the manufacture of band-aid also goes through several processes before it is a finished product. The NBRC is further planning to set up a tissue paper manufacturing unit. With health and environment concerns increasing, these eco-friendly pads are sure to score over regular napkins.