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An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

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Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#31

Post by jackityquack »

solutionyogi wrote: post #26
jackityquack wrote: post #15

Good story, but a strange guy. Also, he could probably do more good for his country by selling his product. He would actually disrupt the industry, instead of creating yet another charity project. The way to fight poverty isn't to give poor people poor solution. The way to think about it is that you need to level the playing field, so even Indians would laugh at making their own napkins. If you told a white American…

My exact thoughts. Once again, you also explained it a whole lot better than I did ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3370197 ). Being raised in lower income family in India, I have certainly seen how capitalism could lift people of poverty.

I've only had the chance to visit once, but it's wonderful! The best news I've heard is that (i seem to remember) 80% of people that live in slums (slums all over the world), only live there for 1 generation. That means in 80% of cases, people get out of the deepest poverty (people usually come to slums from rural areas, so slums don't shrink). The world is getting better, but it does take a LONG time.

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_good_news_of_the_d...

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#32

Post by cowpewter »

tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

It probably is a better solution (I use one myself and my only gripe is that I wished I'd known it was an option as a teenager and not already been 30 when I discovered them), but if the menstrual taboo is as strong there as that article implies, then it may be an even harder sell than a man designing a napkin machine.

There's a lot more potential hand-contact with menstrual blood when using a cup than pads, and while someone in the western world might scoff at the idea that using a cup could "ruin" a women's virginity, that could be a real concern for an unmarried girl in rural India.

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#33

Post by lizzard »

tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

They are great, but I can imagine they might be difficult to manage and to keep clean in some situations.

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#34

Post by solutionyogi »

slurgfest wrote: post #29
jackityquack wrote: post #15

Good story, but a strange guy. Also, he could probably do more good for his country by selling his product. He would actually disrupt the industry, instead of creating yet another charity project. The way to fight poverty isn't to give poor people poor solution. The way to think about it is that you need to level the playing field, so even Indians would laugh at making their own napkins. If you told a white American…

Is the idea really for people to make their own napkins? I thought based on the article that the point was that napkins could be manufactured cheaply in the village, rather than on half-million dollar machines owned by multinational conglomerates.

Well, he solved the problem of creating a machine which costs around 1,200$ instead of 600,000$, the machine used by J&J and P&G.

Now, his idea is that lot of NGOs in various villages have to make this investment of 1200$ (which is a LOT of money for people living in villages), install the machine, make the napkins and then sell them.

What the OP and I suggest is that he should create/install machines in his own factory, optimize the process even further and then using economies of scale create cheap napkins which every women can afford. Having a central location to drive the prices lower is much easier than installing machines in a country as big as India. And I think he should be able to easily get Investment because his invention is featured at the national level. [And if he can't get Investment, I will start a kickstarter project and send him the money.]

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#36

Post by jackityquack »

solutionyogi wrote: post #34
slurgfest wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the idea really for people to make their own napkins? I thought based on the article that the point was that napkins could be manufactured cheaply in the village, rather than on half-million dollar machines owned by multinational conglomerates.

Well, he solved the problem of creating a machine which costs around 1,200$ instead of 600,000$, the machine used by J&J and P&G. Now, his idea is that lot of NGOs in various villages have to make this investment of 1200$ (which is a LOT of money for people living in villages), install the machine, make the napkins and then sell them. What the OP and I suggest is that he should create/install machines in his own fact…

Or self fund since it sounds to be a profitable idea.

His plan is bad because he creates yet another cause to give money to. With a business, he gets the same outcome and doesn't need help. It's a win-win-win!

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#37

Post by solutionyogi »

cowpewter wrote: post #32
tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

It probably is a better solution (I use one myself and my only gripe is that I wished I'd known it was an option as a teenager and not already been 30 when I discovered them), but if the menstrual taboo is as strong there as that article implies, then it may be an even harder sell than a man designing a napkin machine. There's a lot more potential hand-contact with menstrual blood when using a cup than pads, and whil…

A great point about 'ruining virginity'. It is definitely a very sensitive topic in India and would severely affect product adoption.

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#38

Post by cowpewter »

lizzard wrote: post #33
tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

They are great, but I can imagine they might be difficult to manage and to keep clean in some situations.

Not sure about the natural rubber ones, but the silicone ones can be boil-sterilized. But again, then you run into the taboo. If you can't afford sanitary napkins, can you afford a pot specifically for boiling your cup? Would you even be able to get past the taboo to boil it in the same kitchen that you prepare food in, even if it did have its own dedicated pan that never touched food?

Edit: Oh, and as jackityquack mentioned in the sibling comment to this one, that requires running water. I didn't even think it that far, but yeah...that's an even bigger barrier.

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#39

Post by jackityquack »

lizzard wrote: post #33
tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

They are great, but I can imagine they might be difficult to manage and to keep clean in some situations.

Like without running water.

And, yes it might be the most cost effective, but if you can't convince a white person to use it, then we shouldn't be telling Indians to use it either. It's an option, but the market should and will decide. (p.s. my roommate uses one too.)

Re: An Indian Inventor Disrupts The Period Industry

#40

Post by amirmc »

tantalor wrote: post #18

I applaud the inventor's drive to lower the cost of production, but sanitary napkins aren't necessarily the best solution. For instance, a menstrual cup is generally more cost efficient and certainly more environmentally friendly. And it can be manufactured with simple equipment (rubber injection mold). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

From the linked Wiki page.

"Cup manufacturers urge the use of clean water for cleansing. This may not feasible in all countries or conditions, and alternative ways of managing menstrual flow will need to be employed"

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