As leading
citizen activists of waste management, the problem of Bengaluru’s
growing mountains of garbage was well-understood by environmentalists.
For years, the two have been key members of citizen-led movements which aim to raise awareness about the city’s garbage problems and
propose sustainable solutions, while also influencing urban waste
management policy.
Several landmark legislations including household-level waste
segregation and the expedited implementation of Karnataka’s ban on
manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastics were made possible by the sustained efforts of these groups.
We realised that even after segregation, the volume of garbage was
huge and a Herculean task for the authorities to manage,” say one of them.
This set into motion initiatives like Borrow-A-Bag implemented at the ward-level, to reduce the use of plastic carry bags by making reusable cloth bags easily accessible.
With the efforts of volunteers supported and elected representatives, the programme
effectively reached 20 wards in the city, which declared themselves
plastic-free. It reduced plastic bag usage by up to 50 per cent,she
says. Through community events, the groups demonstrated that it was possible to organise zero-waste celebrations on a large scale.
Also gaining steam was a citizen’s movement called ‘Green The Red’, which launched the Cup and Cloth Campaign,
earlier this year, to raise awareness among urban and rural women about
sustainable menstrual hygiene products, and promote their inclusion in
government health schemes.
With these initiatives, the duo learnt that it was possible to change
attitudes towards consumption and disposal on a large scale, just by
showing that an alternative way was possible.
What was needed, however, was a consolidated platform—of solutions
that were affordable and accessible to all. This turned them from
activists into entrepreneurs.
They started StoneSoup in 2015. The name harks back to an
old folk tale that encapsulates the collective contribution which goes
into creating something of value. In it, a hungry traveller convinces
the people of a town to each share an ingredient that goes into making a
hearty soup to feed the village folk.
Today, StoneSoup offers a range of products and services—sustainable
alternatives that replace daily use products—composting kits, natural
cleaners, cloth diapers and cloth bags.
Their most popular offerings, however, are menstrual cups—a
substitute for single-use pads and tampons, that are superior, both from
the standpoint of women’s health and from an environmental perspective.
“We wanted to create an Indian brand of menstrual cups,” she explains.
The awareness sessions they were already conducting as advocates of
‘Green The Red’ gave them a wealth of data from actual and potential
users.
“That really put us in a good place by giving us insights on how to
design the product, market it, and address people’s concerns,” she says.
Their design is innovative and intuitive—no rim lines and
stain-causing grooves; no vestigial parts like the stem—nothing that can
confuse users. A StoneSoup cup is smooth and bell-shaped, with a few
grip lines.
“We made a cup that was the smallest size—to fit most women, and
changed the shape from a V to a U to increase the volume,” she says
about what makes the StoneSoup cups more functional.
With design done, the next step was to put these cups
within the easy reach of Indian women. One obvious solution was to be
visible on major e-commerce platforms and mainstream retail stores—places well-suited to Indian buying behaviour. StoneSoup is also working to make cups available in chemist shops.
The other was to change the packaging so that the cup looked less
like a medical device and more like an accessory—compact, attractive,
portable and premium.
Manufactured in Bengaluru, the cups are available in a range of
firmness—from soft to hard—making them suitable for various body types,
levels of physical activity and flow.
StoneSoup cup users include women who are athletes, cyclists,
gymnasts, and frequent travellers. The cups are priced between Rs 550
and Rs 1,200 and can be used for up to ten years.
The benefits of cups are well known. They’re safer for women’s
reproductive health than plastic pads whose chemical fragrances and
absorbents have been linked to allergies, irritations and discomfort.
For civic agencies, a switch from disposables could
make garbage management easier and more cost-effective by reducing the
expenditure on transport, treatment and disposal, and eliminating such
practices as open burning, burying and incineration, and the health
hazards they pose.
Reusable menstrual care products have been steadily gaining
popularity in India with a number of homegrown and foreign brands
available in the market. “But,” she says “a majority of women buy
cups for environmental reasons.”
“We wanted to reach out to others who are doing it for convenience,” says one of them.
And cups do offer all the convenience of disposables, plus they’re safe, economical and durable.
StoneSoup sisterhood
As new entrepreneurs, the duo was keen to start a business that
created livelihoods for women. As a first step, they tapped into – a network of citizen volunteers, who, as part of the Green The Red
Movement, help women adopt sustainable menstruation practices through
awareness sessions and demonstrations.
They also serve as resellers of these products and receive a portion
of the margins. Leveraging the vast Saathi Network helps to reduce the
adoption barrier, especially among women who want to understand usage
patterns from existing users, and need hand-holding, once they become
adopters.
StoneSoup cups are priced lowest with Saathis to reduce the
price barrier, especially in rural areas and among the urban poor, says
Malini. StoneSoup also organises large-scale cup donation drives with
its basic variant—the Pratham cup.
The entrepreneurs say that all their efforts are focused on building a viable business that reduces garbage.
“But sustainable businesses are not ones that make billion dollars
and then donate those billions to charity. We believe in giving along
the way, without fighting to be the cheapest in the market,” says Smita.
StoneSoup’s cup-storage pouches come from the rural parts
of South India and its period pride earrings are handmade by Dalit
women artisans. The duo also supports and promotes NGOs and SHGs that
manufacture other sustainable menstrual health solutions such as cloth pads.
The global menstrual cup market is expected
to grow at 3.50% between 2018 and 2023, with India among the
significant contributors. For now, however, the uptake of menstrual cups
in the country is low due to a variety of reasons
including taboos against insertables, high cost, and lack of awareness,
especially in rural India, about the existence of these products.
Today, close to 50 per cent women aged 15-24 years in rural India and 77 per cent in urban India use locally prepared sanitary napkins and disposable menstrual hygiene products.
In a context where sewage and waste management infrastructure is
rudimentary at best, the rise in non-biodegradable pads signals great
health and environmental risks.
StoneSoup is attempting to change this narrative by showing that
garbage need not only be managed by quick fixes, but it can also be
reduced; that rashes, allergies and discomfort during periods need not
just be treated, they can be done away with, for good.
“All we’re saying is that women have the right to alternatives so
that they can choose what’s best for their health, environment and
pocket,” the duo say.
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