FMT caught up with Dr Nisha Thayanathan, 29, recently to find out more about her recent invention.

“Many of us are not aware that the average pad that we use is made up of almost 90% plastic and this means that it will take hundreds of years to biodegrade,” she said, adding that sanitary products that were not disposed of properly ended up in landfills or polluted the seas.

After months of trial and error, Nisha finally perfected her product and named it Ecopad to clearly communicate its main benefit to the community and the environment.

Ecopad’s sanitary pads and panty liners are made from 100% cotton. They are also completely free of plastic, dioxin, herbicide, chlorine, perfume and preservatives, substances that can in some instances be harmful to a woman’s body and her health.

And unlike conventional sanitary pads and panty liners, the all-natural substances in Ecopad products mean that they fully degrade in just 216 hours.

Biodegradability aside, the Seremban-born doctor and former Miss Earth Malaysia, also said she was on a mission to promote better self-hygiene for women who were menstruating through the Ecopad brand.

She related how the idea to create biodegradable sanitary products came to her during a posting to Sarawak where she worked with women from underprivileged communities.

She noticed that many of the women there were not able to afford basic female hygiene products. “I was shocked to see that many resorted to using old rags, newspapers and even coconut husks while menstruating,” she told FMT.

She said these practices were extremely dangerous and could lead to infections which in severe cases could lead to infertility or even death, especially for those who were immunocompromised.

Saddened by their poverty and lack of education, she said she ensured that the sanitary products she created would also be affordable and easily accessible, especially to women in underprivileged communities.

She has even taken it a step further by pledging RM1 from every purchase of a box of Ecopad to fund the distribution of sanitary products to underprivileged girls and women.

A box of 10 biodegradable pads is priced at RM15 while a box of 20 pantyliners is priced at RM12.

Nisha said her dream would be that Ecopad was available in pharmacies all over the world someday.

At the end of May, she will be travelling to South Africa to speak about women’s hygiene and to distribute boxes of Ecopad to those in need.

“Ecopad could give hope to the indigenous and less-fortunate communities of Malaysia to practise good self-hygiene while menstruating.”

Head over to Ecopad’s Website or Instagram page to find out more about the products and to place your orders.