Menstruation is a normal female reproductive activity, but women feel pain, discomfort and weakness during this period. Various socio-cultural norms, values ​​and superstitions prevent women from participating in various cultural and social activities that

 directly or indirectly affect daily activities. Improper hygiene maintenance may cause toxic shock syndrome, reproductive tract infections, and other vaginal infections. It is important to maintain proper hygiene to prevent further infection and discomfort. Various 

materials are used for menstrual hygiene such as reusable napkins, pads, tampons and menstrual cups.

Sanitary pad are widely used due to their readily availability and ease of use, but they have a negative impact on the environment. It takes long time to degrade in land as it constitute plastic.Burning of sanitary pad also produces toxic gases and causes air pollution. A large amount of sanitary  is thrown into the landfill and soil pollution is increasing day by day. According to the study, a woman throws away 11,000 menstrual products in landfills, which is equivalent to about 26.4 kg of weight. Contact with air leads to the growth of microorganisms and produce foul  odors and smell. It can also cause skin irritation and allergies in our body. herefore, we need to replace sanitary napkins and use sustainable products that are ecologically and economically viable. 

Menstrual cup is bell shaped cup, made from silicon and insert to vagina for collection of blood. It should be boiled with water to sterilize and kill the pathogen before insert to vagina.It collects large amount blood as compared to tampons and sanitary pads. From an economic point of view, It can be purchased at NPR 1000 to 1500 in Nepal and can be used for about 10 to 15 years. While approximately NPR 100 is required to purchase each pad. Menstrual cup is economically viable than pad and tampons. Other advantage of menstrual cup includes less leakage, less odour, no frequent change and comfort. It also reduces water footprint during the production of sanitary pad.

Although it has several advantages, the use of menstrual cup is very limited due to lack of awareness. A small number of NGOs, NGOs and government agencies focus on the implementation of related projects. The awareness program should be increased to increase the adoption of menstrual cups to maintain a sustainable and environmentally friendly period.

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