Going green with biodegradable sanitary pads

Hyderabad: Age is just a number for Hyderabad-based entrepreneur Aruna Dara. After working in the field of telecom for five years and a career break of 15 years, the 48-year-old decided to dabble with the idea of entrepreneurship. After a chance encounter with her friend who was writing a research paper on hazards of using […]

Hyderabad: Age is just a number for Hyderabad-based entrepreneur Aruna Dara. After working in the field of telecom for five years and a career break of 15 years, the 48-year-old decided to dabble with the idea of entrepreneurship.

After a chance encounter with her friend who was writing a research paper on hazards of using plastic sanitary napkins, Aruna decided to take matters into her own hands. She, along with her friend, started researching and developing a prototype of biodegradable sanitary napkins.

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After researching different materials, she came up with the idea of using banana fiber for making sanitary napkins and thus the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Apna Green Products came into being in 2019. “We both first started gaining knowledge about the environmental hazards that the existing plastic sanitary napkins cause. And when we spoke to many girls in tier-2 and 3 cities, we realised that there is a lack of awareness in using these napkins. That is when we thought of solving two problems with one solution. While our sanitary napkins are chemical-free and plastic-free, the units that we have are run by women of the local community and we are supporting many sick units.” Aruna told Telangana Today.

The company currently has three units in Telangana with one each in Wanaparthy, Siddipet and Nirmal along with one more unit in Jharkhand which is being run in association with Central Coalfields India. Other than this, the company also supports rejuvenating many sick units in various districts of Telangana.

Aruna also conducts awareness programmes in schools and colleges across Telangana and Jharkhand. The company has tied up with schools to provide biodegradable napkins and has also collaborated with 20-plus NGOs as well.

The enterprise is part of Walmart’s Vriddhi programme and has helped Aruna get access to e-commerce marketplace and inputs on supply chain and logistics. Aruna revealed that she has registered her company on Flipkart and e-commerce contributes to 10 per cent of the business.

Walmart V-P, International Partnership Services, Nidhi Munjal, said, “Through the Vriddhi programme, we have seen MSMEs build and fulfill their dreams and add digital expertise, adapt to world-class business processes and establish themselves as national and global brands.”