Warding off armyworm, wiping without worry, banana fiber sanitary napkins, mango bioplastics, wearable fermentation-based protein jacket and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of September 13th

#3 IIT grads develop banana fiber sanitary napkins

In India, two graduates of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have founded a company to produce sanitary napkins from banana fibers.

Dubbed Sanfe, Archit Agarwal and Harry Sehrawat say the product can be washed and reused for two years.

“Disposable sanitary napkins are mostly made of synthetic materials and plastic, which can take more than 50-60 years to decompose,” Agarwal, tells India Today. Approximately 12.3 billion sanitary napkins are thrown out annually in India. “The only solution to such a grave problem is switching to reusable and environmentally friendly sanitary pads which are biodegradable,” Agarwal adds. “Banana fiber has excellent absorption properties and composite banana fiber allowed us to make pads which are hygienic, easy to wash and quick dry.”

The pads sell for Rs. 199 (USD$2.76) for a pack of two and are available on amazon.com.
More on the story, here.