Our founder, Snigdha first heard about cloth pads from her mother, Usha who had been using them from the past 3 years. Being a part of the waste management committee, Usha adhered strictly to zero-waste, minimalist lifestyle. However, she didn't want to impose her lifestyle on her "millenial" children who were none the wiser.
Usha started her menstruation journey with cloth "pads". Or rather old cotton sarees which she cut up and used during her time of the month. 40 years ago there weren't the dearth of options we have today. Cloth rags were the way to go. And rightly so, they were discontinued when the market flooded with disposable pads which were easy to use, available at every shop and most importantly reinforced the message that girls could achieve anything even on their "down" days of the month.
Now cut to 2019. The year of "social enlightenment". People are more aware of how their actions have inverse consequences. Things we didn't take seriously like climate change, water sanitation, environmental degradation are fast approaching disasters. The reality we live in is close to a dystopian novel, except the hero who is going to save us suspiciously never seems to turn up.
And one such disaster that India is currently battling is waste management. India is a home to 130 crore people. We have run out of places to dump our garbage, so we choose to do them within cities or bury them way, way underground. You don't need a genius to tell you that this has an adverse impact. The city stinks and your groundwater (which is already at a record low) gets contaminated.
Naari was born out of a need to create a movement of "informed choice" when it comes to menstrual practices in India. The sad reality is we are not aware of the products we use and how they impact our health and well being. We are unaware of what goes into their making and how it impacts our environment. One disposable pad takes upto 500-800 years to degrade and that to not degrade fully. A disposable pad outlives you by at least 4 generations.
Snigdha & Usha together created Naari for the modern world of today, where women feel empowered by wearing them. The pads are 100% biodegradable, easy to use, easy to wash and are good for your body and your surroundings. The prints and designs are handpicked to make you feel beautiful during those awful days of the month.
They have carefully curated a range of products by testing & re-testing them to ensure that the final product helps you navigate your period with utmost ease. Cloth pads are toxin free, dioxin free and plastic free. They are re-usable and easy on the pocket. They are not itchy, rashy and most importantly allow airflow, which doesn't stink up your pad (plastic reacts with blood and causes you to feel that your period blood is "dirty". Also societal messaging that it is actually dirty doesn't help.).
When you use our products, we hope you feel as empowered as we did while creating them. Naari is a product of self-love. When you use the Naari Cloth Pad, we hope you feel empowered enough to love yourself a little more, especially on days when PMS has gotten the better of you!
