Organic sanitary pads from Marijuana plants

Team Udayavani, Nov 20, 2022, 12:04 PM IST

We often associate Marijuana with addictive drugs though it is also used for other medicinal purposes. Now an organisation named ‘Himalayan Hemp Community’ has in one-of-its-kind experiment used hemp to produce N95 masks and reusable sanitary pads.

The organisation was awarded a Rs 50 lakh cash award by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) for this technological innovation. The community now aims to make use of this grant to launch masks and sanitary pads into the markets.

A stall put up by the organisation at the recently held tech summit turned out to be a center of attraction for its innovative products. The company has entered into a partnership with Bengaluru-based Shreem Lotus Fabrics Private Limited. “Ganja cultivation is illegal in South India. However, in many parts of South India, cannabis is cultivated with less than 0.3 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content. The fiber-rich stems are processed to produce masks and sanitary pads.”

The products have been certified by Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association, Shreyas of Himalayan Hemp Community told Udayavani. These hemp pads are totally organic and healthy he said pointing that most of the sanitary pads available in markets are known to cause ovarian, thyroid, skin related infections.

Most of the disposable sanitary pads end up in landfills and just add to the problem of plastic waste. However the hemp sanitary pads are reusable and biodegradable, he said.