Indian Startup's Sanitary Pad Dissolves in 80 Seconds

A sanitary product used for just a few hours shouldn't take 800 years to decompose. That simple truth drove Sarika Pathak to completely redesign the menstrual pad.

India throws away nearly 12 billion sanitary napkins every year. Almost all of them end up in landfills or water bodies, where they'll remain for centuries because they're 90% plastic.

Pathak, a mechanical engineer with design experience at Johnson & Johnson, knew there had to be a better way. In 2021, she founded Cresa with her father to create sanitary pads that actually disappear after use.

The result is a hot water-soluble pad made entirely from plant-based, starch-derived materials. Drop a used Cresa pad into hot water and it dissolves in about 80 seconds. Flush it, and it breaks down completely within a month.

That's a dramatic shift from conventional pads, which sit in landfills for up to 800 years. It's also faster than current compostable options, which take six to eight months to decompose.

The environmental impact is just part of the story. Removing plastic and petroleum-based materials has eliminated rashes for users. In a survey of 500 women, mostly from rural areas, over 95% reported the pads were extremely comfortable with no irritation.

The new disposal method also protects waste pickers who currently handle sanitary waste manually, exposing themselves to health risks. For users, dissolving pads in water removes the need to carefully wrap and hide them, challenging the stigma around menstruation.

Cresa spent four years developing the technology in chemical engineering labs at MIT World Peace University. The team created their own bio-based film that stays leak-proof during use but breaks down in water.

The Ripple Effect

The company has already sold over 250,000 pads through major platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. They're also working with corporate partners including Coca-Cola and NASDAQ, plus government agencies and nonprofits, to reach women in smaller cities who don't shop online.

One current initiative is distributing 90,000 pads to 1,000 women over nine months. Revenue jumped from about $10,000 in their beta phase to over $50,000 this year.

Cresa holds Indian patents for their flushable pad design and a dissolving bin for public washrooms. They're now finalizing certification for their next product: a pad that dissolves in regular water, no heat required.

The startup is proving that menstrual products don't have to harm the planet for centuries after serving their purpose for just a few hours.