Scope and Opportunities for Menstrual Health and Hygiene Products in India

Abstract

Menstrual hygiene continues to be amongst the most challenging development issues today. Not only do deep-rooted taboos, myths and misinformation create the illusion that menstruation is inherently shameful, gross and weird, but in countries like India, women and girls often lack access to hygienic sanitary materials and basic facilities Sanitary Pads necessary for good menstrual hygiene management (MHM). " Sanitary Protection: Every Woman's Health Right " a study by AC Nielsen reveals only 12 % of India's 355 million women use sanitary napkins. Over 88% of women resort to shocking alternatives like un-sanitized cloth, ashes and husk sand. Incidents of Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) are 70% more common among these women 1. The biggest barrier to using a Sanitary Napkin (SN) is affordability. Around 70% of women in India say their family can't afford to buy them, 88% of women use old fabric, rags or sand to manage their flow. This tells the immense entrepreneurial opportunities in the segment. A recent study anticipate the industry to grow to INR 45.9 billion by 2017.the only need to work in this direction is the reduction in cost of production.

Full text

International Research Journal of Social Sciences____________________________________ E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(7), 1-5, July (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.
International Science Community Association 1
Scope and Opportunities for Menstrual Health and Hygiene Products in
India
Vishakha Goyal
Department of Economics, Galgotias University, Greater Noida
vishakha.j1@gmail.com
Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me
Received 20th February 2016, revised 13th April 2016, accepted 7th May 2016
Abstract
Menstrual hygiene continues to be amongst the most challenging development issues today. Not only do deep-rooted
taboos, myths and misinformation create the illusion that menstruation is inherently shameful, gross and weird, but in
countries like India, women and girls often lack access to hygienic sanitary materials and basic facilities Sanitary Pads
necessary for good menstrual hygiene management (MHM). “Sanitary Protection: Every Woman’s Health Right “a study
by AC Nielsen reveals only 12 % of India’s 355 million women use sanitary napkins. Over 88% of women resort to
shocking alternatives like un-sanitized cloth, ashes and husk sand. Incidents of Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) are 70%
more common among these women1. The biggest barrier to using a Sanitary Napkin (SN) is affordability. Around 70% of
women in India say their family can't afford to buy them, 88% of women use old fabric, rags or sand to manage their flow.
This tells the immense entrepreneurial opportunities in the segment. A recent study anticipate the industry to grow to INR
45.9 billion by 2017.the only need to work in this direction is the reduction in cost of production.
Keywords: Menstrual Hygiene, Sanitary Protection, Markets for sanitary napkins.
Introduction
“Sanitary Protection: Every Woman‟s Health Right”, a study by
AC Nielsen concluded that out of India‟s female population
(355 million),only 12 % use sanitary napkins1. Over 88% of
women depend on different alternatives like un-sanitized cloth
or rugs, ashes and husk sand. Some Serious women diseases
such as Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) is 70% more
commonly visible among these women. Studies on this topic
reveal that the greatest barrier of using Sanitary Napkin is its
high cost. In a survey, around 70% of women in India say that
their family can't afford to buy them.Rs 150-crore scheme by
Union Health Ministry was launched in 2012 to increase access,
affordability and use of Sanitary Napkins among adolescent
girls in rural areas. Under this scheme, packs which contain six
SNs are provided to Below Poverty Line (BPL) girls at a
subsidized cost of Rs 1 per pack. Girls in the Above Poverty
Line (APL) category need to payRs 6 per pack of sanitary
napkins, which is again very nominal.
Accredited Social Heath Activists (ASHA) and Auxiliary
Nurses and Midwives (ANM) of NRHM arealso taking steps to
improve menstrual hygiene like, free distribution of sanitary
napkins to adolescent girls especially in rural areas, But the
question arise about the sufficiency of these steps? If cost is the
only reason behind poor menstrual hygiene among women in
India then after such steps by government this situation should
have been improved but the data is not reflecting in the same
results that mean there should be other factors which hindrance
the market development of menstrual hygiene products in India.
Objective of the Study
The objective of the present study is to examine different
opportunities and challenges related to menstrual health
products and its related marketing challenges in Indian Context.
In addition this paper also examines the initiatives taken by
various organizations in the existing Industry for creating
awareness and affordability in this direction, as well as the
future prospects in this segment.
Present Challenges in Indian Market: i. Awareness: Nearly half
of the Indian women are mostly neglected especially relating to
their gender specific needs2. On an average a woman spends
2100 days of her life menstruating but accessibility and
affordability of menstruation products is largely absent, which
restricts women‟s mobility and affects the development of
adolescent girlsIn rural India the problem is exacerbated as
many women have not seen sanitary napkin, nor are they aware
about their use. Many poor women menstruate on their skirts or
use the same set of cloths for months together. ii. Cost: In the
Indian competitive market, Maximum of the available sanitary
napkins are beyond the purchasing power of lower income
group women3. They can‟t afford the product every month.
About 70% of India females have similar excuse that their
families do not have enough purchasing power to spend on such
products. On an average, a pack of 10 sanitary napkins (Medium
Quality) costs about INR 30-40. Hence,statistically average
spending per woman per month would be around INR 48, which
is too much expensive for a women belonging to low-income
group family. Foran ordinary village woman, the choice would

International Research Journal of Social Sciences_________________________________________________ E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(7), 1-5, July (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.
International Science Community Association 2
often be between buying milk for the children or sanitary
napkins for her. Recognizing that the biggest impediment in this
market segment is affordability. The findings reveal the gap in
supply chain of sanitary napkins. iii. Availability: Big brands
such as Stayfree and Whisper from Johnsons& Johnsons and
P& G lack to approach bottom of pyramid consumers. Out of
187 general and provision stores from 62 villages, not one (0%)
of them sell/stock sanitary napkins1. Vendors in rural areas
report supply of sanitary napkins.
There is an urgent need for a new orientation which boosts
entrepreneurship in menstrual health and hygiene and
enterprises and institutions following a bottom of pyramid
strategy to reach India‟s vulnerable sections. The enterprises
need a sustainable as well as profitable business perspective.
Hypothesis
Entrepreneurial initiatives in menstrual hygiene products either
by the government of India or by big private leading companies,
lack to address the needs of bottom of pyramid consumers.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities: Few examples: A Research had
conducted by NIIR Project Consultancy Services on
FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCTS (Sanitary Napkins &
Pads) to study on menstrual Hygiene industry in India, analyzed
that Indian market has leading share by few Multinational
companies like Proctor and Gamble Hygiene Healthcare Ltd
(PGHHL) and Johnson & Johnson Ltd4. They left very small
scope for the other firms to operate in this market segment.
Alreadythey are growing at the rate of 21% in the past. This
study has made sales forecast about these MNCs to grow at the
rate of 25% in the near future. The major hurdle to increase the
aggregate demand of the product can be illustrated as lack of
awareness among female about their own hygiene during
menstrual cycle4, availability of the product in the market and
its high cost. This report made a thorough analysis about sales
forecast for the Industrywill grow to INR 45.9 billion by 2017.
In May 2012, Arunachalam Muruganantham, who is popularly
known as the „Menstrual Man‟ in India, found the root cause of
high cost of the product which lies in its fixed cost for
machinery,which is necessary to convert fiber used in sanitary
napkins into absorbent cellulose. Till now most of the
companies in Indian market are importing this machine. For an
average entrepreneur in this segment, this cost is too high to
manage.
He has developed a simple machine which can be replaced this
expensive machine and convertfiber into absorbent
cellulose.there was one study on the habits of menstrual hygiene
among unmarriedwomen(n=36,7850) held in the year 2007-08
at all India, this study provides strongest reason for low usage of
sanitary napkins is its high cost5. Therefore if we can reduce its
cost, number of users can be increased gradually. There are
some small industries which are doing really well to bring
revolution in this product segment.
Case study Number-1 ‘Jayaashree Industries’: The major
fixed cost in this Industry is spent on Machine, Jayaashree
Industries made a revolution by using a country made machine
which can be run by electricity as well as foot pedals, hence this
machine can be easily installed in villages to create a micro unit
run by a group of women and electricity can become a constrain
in their production unit. This machine can produce 1,000
napkins a day, which is not too small for a micro unit. The cost
of production is controlled by other factors as well and they
have reduced the cost toRs 16 per 8-pack. However, the
company has decided to focus on development of whole rural
society instead of just focusing on its commercial use. This firm
is focusing to empower rural women to purchase the machine, at
a nominal cost of Rs 80,000. This approach can encourage the
several women entrepreneurs at small scale but this way the
product can reach the bottom of pyramid. If the product is
developed through women entrepreneur, there will be no need to
make any efforts separately to create awareness among them for
the use of the product, in this way Jayaashree‟s Industry has
major innovation for the growth of this Industry. Till
dateJayaashree Industries has sold more than 745 machines
across 23 Indian states of India which trickle down its effect on
more than 3.5 million women to use low cost sanitary napkins.
One more problem can be solved through this approach which is
availability in remote areas; if sanitary napkins are produced by
micro entrepreneurs the product will be locally available so that
supply chain management will be more efficient.
Case Study Number -2 ‘Azadi group’: The company ‘Azadi’
has developed a product which is 100% biodegradable. This is a
revolution and solved the problem of many social scientists.
Their product is 43% cheaper than the available product in this
segment.This great combination of biodegradability and low
cost has a power to revolutionize the whole Menstrual Hygiene
Industry. Founder of the group, DhirendraPratap Singh and
Ameet Mehta, have approached angel investor to fund their
innovation and they made a contract with Chicago-based
incubator to get the capital of $115,000. Still to reach every
consumer in Indian Market is a challenge.Although the
company is providing training to several groups of female
entrepreneurs to make sure that the product can reach to bottom
of the pyramid6. They have already started in the Bahraich and
Shrawasti District of Uttar Pradesh under pilot project.
Case Study Number -3 ‘Mahalakshmi Self Help Group’:
Learning from experiences across Water-Aid and the partners a
women‟s group was encouraged in manufacturing, safe,
disposable and affordable sanitary napkins. The study on
understanding the real situation in these remote tribal villages
has helped develop practical solutions not just in manufacturing
but adopting social marketing approaches to create demand to
ensuring the product reaches the target audience through
dissemination of knowledge and distribution of materials.
Women are the managers, makers and distributors of the
sanitary napkins. Mahalakshmi Self Help Group established
their production unit in the interior of Navpara village,

International Research Journal of Social Sciences_________________________________________________ E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(7), 1-5, July (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.
International Science Community Association 3
Chhattisgarh situated in a remote location due to which women
didn‟t have access to health centers. It was supported by Water-
Aid, India and Carmdaksh a local partner organization7.
Research findings show before establishing this unit it was
found that within an area of 15 KM sanitary napkin is not
available and none of the women and girls from the 62 villages
ever used sanitary napkins. The initiative creates livelihood
opportunity to their group members as well. The detailed break
of investments is given in Table-1. Accordingly total investment
is just INR 1,20,000 which is feasible with the help of micro
credit programs. If this kind of manufacturing units gets
associated with social benefit schemes like MGNREGA
(Mahatma Gandhi National rural employment guaranteed act),
neither need we to put any efforts in spreading the awareness
nor for women unemployment.
Table-1
Cost of Sanitary Napkin (Production Unit)1
Items
Amount (INR)
Non-Woven Fabric (50 kg)
10,000
Packaging
15,000
Electrical Fittings
3,000
Sealing Machine
1,350
Scissors,boxes and tray to handle
2,000
Workshop Maintence
12,000
SHG Member Uniform
2,000
Dust free/air proofing
5,000
Miscellaneous
5,000
Total
1,19,500 Round
off 1,20,000
The Mahalaxmi group is selling the napkin at a cost of Rs. 2.5
as against products from popular brands whose retail price is a
minimum of Rs. 3 – 4 per pad. The experiment initiative has
ensured affordability, and accessibility of sanitary napkins in the
most interior area where women have not seen sanitary napkins
until this unit came into existence. Women who have never seen
napkins earlier are now producing napkin. Several actions are
taken to maintain quality standards such as production room
kept exclusively for producing napkin, use of mask, gloves and
head caps, no entrance to children, entry only after washing
hands and feet, use of auto-clave for sterilizing and packing
immediately after sterilizing. Mahalaxmi Self Help Group has
demonstrated sanitary pit along with toilets of this group
members for promoting safe method of disposal. Women
dispose of napkins in sanitary pits where it takes about 3 months
to decompose. Women also dispose of napkins by burning them
in homemade incinerators1.
Development of menstrual health product market: Rules for
success: I Stage - Education and making sanitary napkins
available in school, II Stage - Affordable napkins Promotion
through Self Help Groups, III Stage - Up scaling by
mainstreaming through convergence of different streams like in
women and Child Welfare Department and Health and family
welfare ministry, IV Stage - Wider dissemination through
display, dissemination and promotion at exhibition ormela, V
Stage - Enhanced supply chains by sensitizing local vendors for
marketing of locally produced products.
In this way these small production centers are generating
employment for women which bring more equality in the
economy. If the group of women is engaged in its production,
there is no need to bring awareness about the usage of the
product among this group and gradually information will
penetrate into lower strata of the society. Hence this policy of
promoting micro entrepreneurs cam address the issues such as:
women employability, availability of the product at rural level,
cost of the product, awareness about the usage of the product.
Figure-1
Model of social change develop by Entrepreneurship skills
of Mahalakshmi Self Help Group
Case Study: 4: Tiruvidenthai Akshaya Self-Help Group
under Public-Private-Community Partnership: Corporate
social responsibility can play a vital role in this segment. This
argument has proven by Tiruvidenthai Akshaya Self-Help
Group8. This group is working in and around Kancheepuram
District of Tamil Nadu where the average per capita income is
low. Since the maximum households cannot afford sanitary
napkins, the young school going girls had to depended on
traditional methods (old cloth, Rugs). But now, sanitary pads are
available for just Rs 2 through vending machines. The napkin
vending machine sponsored by UNICEF and ShriCheema
Foundation, an initiative in corporate social responsibility by
TVS Electronics Ltd., is a boon to the girl students.Incinerator
ENTREPRENEURIAL
OPPORTUNITY
(Production of sanitary
napkins)
SHGs supported by
Social Organisations
(WaterAid and
Carmdaksh)
Generates Employment
for Marginalised
Sections
(Women)
Social and
Economic
empowerment

International Research Journal of Social Sciences_________________________________________________ E-ISSN 2319–3565
Vol. 5(7), 1-5, July (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.
International Science Community Association 4
for the safe disposal of sanitary waste has been installed by the
Tamil Nadu Government in 2004 under the Total Sanitation
Campaign. The girl students of the rural school are now aware
of the issues of reproductive tract infections and of the
importance of hygiene practices.
Figure-2
Most likelihood outcome of social change by various
stakeholders of society
This is one of the best examples that reflects how Public-
Private-Community partnership motivating small social
enterprises which supply the scarce public good with a mutual
co-operation from different stakeholders of society facilitating a
social change.
Conclusion
Marketing opportunities for menstrual products in India: i.
Increasing the consumer Base: if the product is manufactured by
micro enterprises there will be huge increase in the availability
of the product, hence consumer base will be enhanced to
increase the market size in India. ii. Cost reduction: Wealth
Index Quintiles reflect that 47% of female uses sanitary napkin
while only 5% among poor income household. Hence this
should be considered as normal commodity so we can assume
that there is high correlation price and quantity demanded. With
the above case of production there is scope of high reduction in
prices that will surely boost up the quantity demanded of the
product, which will provide high positive externalities on
women menstrual health. iii. Lack of standardization: on the
basis of the District Level Household and Facility Survey
(DLHS-3) 2007-08, there is huge variation in the usage
oflocally prepared Napkins. Thenorthern states like Chandigarh,
Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh show highusages. While
the states which has more developed market like, Haryana and
Chhattisgarh locally prepared Napkins are not very popular. The
probable reason for this high discrepancy could be availability
and easy access of product. iv. Less awareness and poor
availability of the product8: Besides all the efforts in different
government policies and programs, the availability of the
products is limited to particular developed markets and medical
centers; another responsible factor in this direction is low
awareness among women about the product. Still the women
consider menstrual hygiene product as luxury product, hence
there is immediate need to make women aware. It is very
important to spread this awareness that these age old practice of
using cloths and locally prepared napkins among women
increase the risk of spreading of reproductive tract infections
among women. v. Opportunities at Village level through Public
Private Partnership: companies like Azadi group or Jayshree
Industry of Mahalaxmi SHGs can be collaborated with the
schemes like NREGA to create employment opportunities at
village level and this could also increase the awareness at grass
root level.ifa small innovative step can bring so many positive
changes in the market of menstrual hygiene products through
PPP model (TiruvidenthaiAkshaya self-help group), then at the
macro level these can solve the powerful hurdles like
availability, awareness, cost effectiveness and women
unemployment.
References
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Health Right.# a survey undertaken by AC Nielsen.
Reviewed and endorsed by community development
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age and 151 gynaecologists from across India.
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ENTREPRENEURI
AL OPPRTUNITY
(Production of
sanitary napkins)
TAMIL NADU
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incinerator
UNICEF and
CHEEMA
Founation
(napkin vending
machine)
Tiruvidenthai
Akshaya SHG
supplies social
good
SOCIAL
CHANGE

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Vol. 5(7), 1-5, July (2016) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.
International Science Community Association 5
7. T. Pugalenthi1, J. Senthil, K. K. Jayakumar and C.
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