Manithee Healthcare Private Limited

In their own words

The commercial napkins and diapers available in the market right now contains 90% of plastic which is non-biodegradable that stays in the landfill for approximately 800 years. 98% of these ends up in landfills and waterbodies. 1 napkin equals 4 plastic bags. The napkins/diapers consist of cellulose pulp that usually recycled from waste papers. They are heavily bleached with chlorine that emits dioxin gas, which gets stored in the fat tissues for over 11 years. The superabsorbent material (SAP) used in such products is a non-biodegradable material which causes serious environmental hazard. The napkins/diapers also contain a hydrophobic covering sheet which is made of polypropylene (plastic derivative) that induces skin rashes in most cases. Hence there is a need for a completely biodegradable sanitary product which addresses the issues faced by the consumers in order to eliminate environmental and health hazards. We have come up with a patented technology of a completely biodegradable napkin with following highlights: • The developed biodegradable sanitary napkins were tested layer by layer for its anti-bacterial properties and it was found to be anti-bacterial. The presence of turmeric gives antibacterial effect and the presence of vetiver gives a good fragrance to the napkin. Lemon extracts present in the middle layer wards off bad odor during menstruation. • Napkin’s breathability is very important so as to ensure that the blood stains odor does not keep circulating inside which may lead to vaginal infection. Hence this napkin’s top and bottom layer were tested to be extremely breathable allowing the fresh air to circulate which not only avoids infection it also creates a cooling effect within by releasing the excess heat out to atmosphere. • The napkin leaves negligible contents in the soil after thermal degradation (burning) • The said napkin was also tested for its degradability rate in the soil and it was found to degrade within 15-20 days on a trial of 4 times • After it has been completely degraded in the soil the soil was also tested to ensure the nitrogen levels and it was found to increase to about 20% after the degradation • This napkin can also be safely discarded in the toilets and flushed. We also have 3 other technologies: 1) Bioresorbable suture material 2) Biodegradable band-aid 3) Biodegradable sweat-based glucose sensor and this company has been started to launch all our inventions into market.

Written by the company on its public Startup India profile. Not verified by us.