Menstrual pad
[1] Menstrual pads are made from a range of materials, differing depending on style, country of origin, and brand.
Although producers are generally reluctant to reveal the exact composition of their products, the main materials of disposable menstrual pads are usually bleached rayon (cellulose made from wood pulp), cotton and plastics.
[4] In general, the layering is as follows: "an absorbent core material placed between a flexible liquid-pervious topsheet and a liquid-impervious plastic backsheet that has an adhesive on the outside for attaching the napkin to an undergarment".
[5] As is the case with disposable tampons and diapers, recycling is difficult and rarely done due to cost reasons, although proof-of-principle solutions appear to exist.
[citation needed] When not dumped in a landfill where the non-biodegradable parts may persist for thousands of years, conventional hygiene products can at best be "thermally recycled" (incinerated).
[6] There are several different types of disposable menstrual pads: The shape, absorbency and lengths may vary depending on manufacturer, but usually range from the short slender panty liner to the larger and longer overnight.
Some people prefer to wrap the pads with toilet paper instead of (or as well as) using the wrapper, which, often being made of slick plastic with a small tape tab, may not adequately stick.
In first aid, they make excellent dressings for heavy bleeding due to their high absorbency if gauze is unavailable or inadequate.
[17] The first of the disposable pads were generally in the form of a cotton wool or similar fibrous rectangle covered with an absorbent liner.
The liner ends were extended front and back so as to fit through loops in a special girdle or belt worn beneath undergarments.
[28] Lilian Gilbreth's market research report published in 1927 gives valuable information about American's experiences of menstruation in 1920s.
Some variations introduced were quilting of the lining, adding "wings" and reducing the thickness of the pad by utilising products such as sphagnum and polyacrylate superabsorbent gels derived from petroleum.
The absorbent core, made from chlorine bleached wood pulp, could be reduced to make slimmer products with the addition of polyacrylate gels which sucks up the liquid quickly and holds it in a suspension under pressure.
The remaining materials are mostly derived from the petroleum industry, the cover stock used is polypropylene non woven, with the leakproof barrier made from polyethylene film.
[33] Rags, soil, and mud are also reportedly used for collecting menstrual flow by people who cannot afford the more expensive disposable pads or tampons.
[34] In order to meet the need for achieving an inexpensive solution to reduce unsanitary and unhygienic practices in countries like India, Arunachalam Muruganantham from rural Coimbatore in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India, developed and patented a machine which could manufacture low-cost sanitary pads for less than a third of the former cost.
