HealthFab – GoPadFree
HealthFab
Menstrual hygiene essentially refers to access to hygienic products that can absorb or collect the flow of blood during menstruation. The most commonly used menstrual hygiene product is the disposable sanitary pad with a market share of 89%, followed by cloth pads, tampons, menstrual cups and other products.
As per studies, a single woman can generate up to 125 kg of non-biodegradable sanitary waste through her menstruating years alone while using disposable products. In India itself, approx 3.3 million tons of plastic waste is generated every year, 13% of this caused by sanitary waste.
On the other hand, period panties which are reusable and comfortable, are a great sustainable alternative in the menstrual hygiene market.
Healthfab was founded in 2020 with the mission to provide affordable solutions for a healthy and sustainable human life. The company’s flagship product is GoPadFree™, India’s first standalone reusable period panty, that aims to bring comfort to women and create a more plastic-free society.
GoPadFree panties are made of organic Oeko-Tex® certified cotton with a 5X absorbency as compared to sanitary pads. They can be reused upto 50 washes, making it a cost-effective solution for users. There is no need to wear additional menstrual products such as sanitary pads, tampons or cups when using these panties.
GoPadFree has been able to save more than 15 tonnes of plastic waste in a year. The product has been highly appreciated by its 20,000 plus customers and the company is regularly interacting with them to make the overall menstruation experience even better. Some users have called it a life-changing product for young girls. The next step is to bring more affordable variants of the products which can be used by the masses.
Founders
Healthfab was founded by the trio Kiriti Acharjee, Saurav Chakraborty and Satyajit Chakraborty; all from Assam.
With extensive experience in the e-commerce field, Kiriti is the CEO of the company. He is an electronic engineer by profession and has worked with companies such as Amazon, Cloudtail and Felx. Healthfab was founded from his personal passion of driving sustainable solutions in the health & hygiene category.
Growing up with his sister and other working women in the family, he understood the challenges that came with menstrual products and wanted to work towards creating something that was hassle-free and at the same time plastic-free. After multiple rounds of testing and incorporating feedback, GoPadFree was launched in early 2020.
Saurav and Satyajit were also invested in this idea and the trio decided to come up with GoPadFree™.
Healthfab Products:
Healthfab especially designed and curated a period panty for teenage girls who can live a comfortable period cycle from the start of their puberty.
Additionally, Healthfab has partnered with an NGO called Yuwa, that works specifically with girls from impoverished families in rural Jharkhand where girls are at a high risk of child marriage and human trafficking. They have one of the largest girls’ football programs in India with over 250 players. Through this partnership, Healthfab will contribute 1% of their sales for the betterment of the girls in this region.