From Jaipur to Edinburgh: Sanitree's Mission for Sustainable Menstruation
On a fateful day in 2017, Edinburgh students Martha, Bhara, Phoebe and Anja got to talking about the prevalent issue of period poverty which they had witnessed first-hand in India. After having spoken to Ishu, our amazing co-founder based in Jaipur, they realised that between the five of them, they had the capacity to tackle this problem and raise awareness of the lack of period dignity that menstruators across the world are forced to deal with each day. As a result of these stimulating conversations, Sanitree was born.
A non-profit organisation based in Edinburgh and Jaipur, Sanitree aims to eradicate the stigma surrounding periods and demonstrate that menstruation can be a sustainable process. Our team in Jaipur, made up of seven female beneficiaries and led by Ishu, is employed to create our reusable pads, whilst our job in Edinburgh is to spread the message about our organisation and raise as much money as possible to ensure the longevity of our partners’ work. By providing employment to our inspiring beneficiaries, Sanitree supports these women who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in India and promotes a circular economy which generates sustainability and minimal waste.
A major governing principle of Sanitree’s work is our concern for the environment, which has been deeply impacted by the disposal of single-use products. The toxic chemical dioxin that is produced when these products are burnt can stay in the environment for several years. The sheer amount of plastic which these products contain means that they can take centuries to biodegrade, whilst the microplastics that they possess are extremely harmful to the ecosystem and marine life. Our pads, made up of one layer of waterproof and biodegradable polyurethane laminate (PUL), one layer of single brushed cotton, and five layers of brushed organic cotton, are a sustainable and ethical alternative to these harmful single-use products and are Sanitree’s pride and joy.
Here in Edinburgh, whilst our team is constantly selling our pads at stalls all over the city (and online!), there is also so much more we do to spread the word about our organisation and encourage an open dialogue about periods. Our club night ‘Heavy Flow’ is a yearly favourite for Edinburgh students which raises money for our team in Jaipur. And just the other week, one of our team members Eleanor went to New York on behalf of Sanitree to speak at a conference at the UN about period dignity, incontinence and period poverty. Both in Edinburgh and in India, we also conduct educational sessions in schools to help diminish the taboo surrounding menstruation and promote the use of sustainable period products.
The tasks which we complete at Sanitree are diverse, but we work tirelessly towards ensuring a dignified, sustainable menstruation process for all those across the world who bleed.
You can browse Sanitree's pads here: https://www.sanitree.org/shophere