Looop

Looop

Looop

Menstruation is time-consuming and costly. People spend an average of 7 years menstruating and spend around £5000-£18000 on products in managing their menstruation life including panadol pills to get rid of period pain. The result of the add-on financial burden causes period poverty when menstruation is profitable and consumed monthly and still associated with social stigma and cultural taboo. Period poverty is an inability to access or afford sufficient sanitary material due to financial constraints. We must not neglect the fact that 500 million people are still living in period poverty and given that people from a weak economic background use homemade blood-collecting substitutes to manage their menstruation, such as tissue paper, socks, newspapers, unhygienic clothes, pieces of mattresses, rags, leaves, ash, goatskin, or even cow dung. This leads to an increased risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections and also immobility due to the association with embarrassment, fear, and anxiety of blood-leaking. I came into the gender justice consciousness by knowing people who suffer period poverty regarding their social-economic status, class, age, ability, race, and gender.

With the rapid climate changes, at least 26 million people are forced to flee away with a fear of being involved in war owing to resource scarcity. The refugee crisis is one of the gravest humanitarian disasters and women suffer more vulnerabilities in this insecure journey such as widespread gender-based violence in the camp. Especially period poverty is overlooked in refugee camps owing to the lack of data collection about menstrual health. This affects their ability to move freely and access opportunities such as education or fetching water and food resources. Plus menstruators change pads in their shelter though there is no privacy rather than in a shared toilet as it is dirty and unsafe. They need to have privacy, safety, security space and access to water and soap to clean. The minority of them who did not struggle had either finished their period or consistently relied on charities for period products. Asylum-seeking menstruators are another marginalised group in terms of access to period products.

Hence, Looop Can is a cleaning kit for washing reusable menstruation pads for reducing period poverty in water-scarcity regions. Knowing almost 60% of female refugees suffer period poverty problems as they rather spend financial support on food or baby diapers. Most of them come from strictly religious countries that see inserting tampons as taboo. This inspires me to design a product that can protect fundamental human rights to water, sanitation, and health for menstruators from 12 to 24 years old, who suffer language and culture barriers and have limited financial ability.

To use Looop Can, first, you add the used pad in. Then you add the baking soda stored inside the container and add water until the level where the packaging indicates. Baking soda is a natural cleaning detergent to help remove blood stains. Screw the cap, immerse the screw container and spin to mix the baking soda and water. Buoyancy Force is used to reduce water required for washing, and the gyroscope spinning mechanism allows less human effort so that people who have period cramps can wash easily. Wait at least 30 minutes until the period blood disintegrates, then use the container to scrub the bloodstain. Rinse and scrub 3 times and one pad can be cleaned with just 500 ml of water. Washing water can be discarded into the natural environment since period blood and baking soda are compostable and harmless to the environment.

Instead of creating a completely new kit out of scratch, Looop Can uses recycled steel cans so that the washing container is easily replaceable. Most modern steel cans for food are given a hermetic plastic coating on the interior, which is used to protect the content from damage such as scratches or dents. Recycled PP is used to make the washing parts. With injection modelling, the total cost is around £3 for the whole set including the washing parts and pads. My pad’s design uses bamboo terry as the contact layer, bamboo fleece as the absorption layer and PUL as the leakproof layer as they are anti-odour, anti-bacterial and eco-friendly, which makes them less likely to cause skin allergies. The pad takes half a day to dry indoors. A rectangular-shaped design reduces waste from the fabric off cut.

The Looop Can be a stepping stone to promote hygiene awareness campaigns in the refugee camp. Refugees who join the 30 minutes menstrual hygiene management session can get 2 units of Looop Can as it makes sure that they learn how to use it properly. It also reduces gender-based violence as users don’t have to risk going out to travel long distances at night for toilets. This will be a tool to fight for better gender equality in water and sanitation access and restore human dignity. Especially reducing period stigma in water scarcity regions such as Jordan, Lebanon or Ethiopia. Hope that one day, there won’t be any heartbreaking period poverty news in the world.

Menstruation is time-consuming and costly. People spend an average of 7 years menstruating and spend around £5000-£18000 on products in managing their menstruation life including panadol pills to get rid of period pain. The result of the add-on financial burden causes period poverty when menstruation is profitable and consumed monthly and still associated with social stigma and cultural taboo. Period poverty is an inability to access or afford sufficient sanitary material due to financial constraints. We must not neglect the fact that 500 million people are still living in period poverty and given that people from a weak economic background use homemade blood-collecting substitutes to manage their menstruation, such as tissue paper, socks, newspapers, unhygienic clothes, pieces of mattresses, rags, leaves, ash, goatskin, or even cow dung. This leads to an increased risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections and also immobility due to the association with embarrassment, fear, and anxiety of blood-leaking. I came into the gender justice consciousness by knowing people who suffer period poverty regarding their social-economic status, class, age, ability, race, and gender.

With the rapid climate changes, at least 26 million people are forced to flee away with a fear of being involved in war owing to resource scarcity. The refugee crisis is one of the gravest humanitarian disasters and women suffer more vulnerabilities in this insecure journey such as widespread gender-based violence in the camp. Especially period poverty is overlooked in refugee camps owing to the lack of data collection about menstrual health. This affects their ability to move freely and access opportunities such as education or fetching water and food resources. Plus menstruators change pads in their shelter though there is no privacy rather than in a shared toilet as it is dirty and unsafe. They need to have privacy, safety, security space and access to water and soap to clean. The minority of them who did not struggle had either finished their period or consistently relied on charities for period products. Asylum-seeking menstruators are another marginalised group in terms of access to period products.

Hence, Looop Can is a cleaning kit for washing reusable menstruation pads for reducing period poverty in water-scarcity regions. Knowing almost 60% of female refugees suffer period poverty problems as they rather spend financial support on food or baby diapers. Most of them come from strictly religious countries that see inserting tampons as taboo. This inspires me to design a product that can protect fundamental human rights to water, sanitation, and health for menstruators from 12 to 24 years old, who suffer language and culture barriers and have limited financial ability.

To use Looop Can, first, you add the used pad in. Then you add the baking soda stored inside the container and add water until the level where the packaging indicates. Baking soda is a natural cleaning detergent to help remove blood stains. Screw the cap, immerse the screw container and spin to mix the baking soda and water. Buoyancy Force is used to reduce water required for washing, and the gyroscope spinning mechanism allows less human effort so that people who have period cramps can wash easily. Wait at least 30 minutes until the period blood disintegrates, then use the container to scrub the bloodstain. Rinse and scrub 3 times and one pad can be cleaned with just 500 ml of water. Washing water can be discarded into the natural environment since period blood and baking soda are compostable and harmless to the environment.

Instead of creating a completely new kit out of scratch, Looop Can uses recycled steel cans so that the washing container is easily replaceable. Most modern steel cans for food are given a hermetic plastic coating on the interior, which is used to protect the content from damage such as scratches or dents. Recycled PP is used to make the washing parts. With injection modelling, the total cost is around £3 for the whole set including the washing parts and pads. My pad’s design uses bamboo terry as the contact layer, bamboo fleece as the absorption layer and PUL as the leakproof layer as they are anti-odour, anti-bacterial and eco-friendly, which makes them less likely to cause skin allergies. The pad takes half a day to dry indoors. A rectangular-shaped design reduces waste from the fabric off cut.

The Looop Can be a stepping stone to promote hygiene awareness campaigns in the refugee camp. Refugees who join the 30 minutes menstrual hygiene management session can get 2 units of Looop Can as it makes sure that they learn how to use it properly. It also reduces gender-based violence as users don’t have to risk going out to travel long distances at night for toilets. This will be a tool to fight for better gender equality in water and sanitation access and restore human dignity. Especially reducing period stigma in water scarcity regions such as Jordan, Lebanon or Ethiopia. Hope that one day, there won’t be any heartbreaking period poverty news in the world.

There are 4 parts in 1 set of Looop Can:
1 piece of recycled food tin can, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 10 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic can lid, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 10 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic container lid, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 2.2 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic baking soda container, 5.5 cm (L) x 5.5 cm (W) x 12 cm (H)

Instead of completely creating a new kit out of the sketch, Looop Can recycle the steel can into the design process so that users can replace their can if they found the old one starting to rust or be damaged. Not only does it reduce the cost but also allows the recycling of food cans without using up energy to melt them into a new can. Looop Can collaborate with the local manufacturer to build the recycling system for repurposing food can to ensure it is sourced locally which reduces the transportation fee. Most modern steel cans for food are given a hermetic plastic coating on the interior, which is used to protect the content from damage such as scratches or dents. Unless the user exposes the unprotected steel by melting or vaporizing the plastic coating with heat, the opened cans will not quickly develop a metallic rust smell. But it is still unable to resist the corrosion since the presence of oxygen: the food can oxidize and leave exposed steel which allows rust to form. ​​Even with a hermetic plastic coating applied in food cans, Looop suggests users replace their can every 9 months for health and safety reasons. Since a food can is recyclable and has a standard size, the user should not struggle for replacement once the food can rust. For the rest of the part, recycled pp is used which is a highly versatile and chemical resistance material that aims to have a 30 years lifespan.

There are 5 pieces in 1 set of Looop Pad:
1 piece of Pad Base, 22 cm (L) x 7 cm (W), including Bamboo Terry and PUL.
1 piece Pad Wing, 22 cm (L) x 7 cm (W), including PUL.
3 pieces of Pad, 21 cm (L) x 6 cm (W) each, including Bamboo Fleece and Terry.

For the skin contract layer, bamboo french terry is ​​used which is an antifungal fabric made from 95% Bamboo and 5% Elastane. For the absorption layer, bamboo fleece is applied with its highly moisture-absorbent, eco-friendly and anti-mite features. For the leakproof layer, ProSoft® Waterproof PUL with Antimicrobial Silvadur is preferred as it can inhibit bacterial growth, control bad odours, create long-lasting freshness without toxic chemicals. Through researching the material used in reusable pads that are less likely to cause skin allergies., I designed the pad to have separable layers so that they dry quicker regardless of the weather. The quick-drying bamboo fabric became an ideal option as it takes half a day to dry indoors and keeps the temperature for wintertime and cooling for summertime. A rectangular-shaped design reduces fabric off the cut waste and is less like menstrual-related products from a distance that reduces gender stigma in refugee camps. Looop Pad can be made by volunteers and distributed to refugees. Or it can be an opportunity to bring financial security to refugee women by paying livable wages for pads manufacturing.

There are 4 parts in 1 set of Looop Can:
1 piece of recycled food tin can, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 10 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic can lid, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 10 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic container lid, 8 cm (L) x 8 cm (W) x 2.2 cm (H)
1 piece of PP plastic baking soda container, 5.5 cm (L) x 5.5 cm (W) x 12 cm (H)

Instead of completely creating a new kit out of the sketch, Looop Can recycle the steel can into the design process so that users can replace their can if they found the old one starting to rust or be damaged. Not only does it reduce the cost but also allows the recycling of food cans without using up energy to melt them into a new can. Looop Can collaborate with the local manufacturer to build the recycling system for repurposing food can to ensure it is sourced locally which reduces the transportation fee. Most modern steel cans for food are given a hermetic plastic coating on the interior, which is used to protect the content from damage such as scratches or dents. Unless the user exposes the unprotected steel by melting or vaporizing the plastic coating with heat, the opened cans will not quickly develop a metallic rust smell. But it is still unable to resist the corrosion since the presence of oxygen: the food can oxidize and leave exposed steel which allows rust to form. ​​Even with a hermetic plastic coating applied in food cans, Looop suggests users replace their can every 9 months for health and safety reasons. Since a food can is recyclable and has a standard size, the user should not struggle for replacement once the food can rust. For the rest of the part, recycled pp is used which is a highly versatile and chemical resistance material that aims to have a 30 years lifespan.

There are 5 pieces in 1 set of Looop Pad:
1 piece of Pad Base, 22 cm (L) x 7 cm (W), including Bamboo Terry and PUL.
1 piece Pad Wing, 22 cm (L) x 7 cm (W), including PUL.
3 pieces of Pad, 21 cm (L) x 6 cm (W) each, including Bamboo Fleece and Terry.

For the skin contract layer, bamboo french terry is ​​used which is an antifungal fabric made from 95% Bamboo and 5% Elastane. For the absorption layer, bamboo fleece is applied with its highly moisture-absorbent, eco-friendly and anti-mite features. For the leakproof layer, ProSoft® Waterproof PUL with Antimicrobial Silvadur is preferred as it can inhibit bacterial growth, control bad odours, create long-lasting freshness without toxic chemicals. Through researching the material used in reusable pads that are less likely to cause skin allergies., I designed the pad to have separable layers so that they dry quicker regardless of the weather. The quick-drying bamboo fabric became an ideal option as it takes half a day to dry indoors and keeps the temperature for wintertime and cooling for summertime. A rectangular-shaped design reduces fabric off the cut waste and is less like menstrual-related products from a distance that reduces gender stigma in refugee camps. Looop Pad can be made by volunteers and distributed to refugees. Or it can be an opportunity to bring financial security to refugee women by paying livable wages for pads manufacturing.

https://www.dezeen.com/2021/08/13/looop-can-is-a-sanitary-pad-washing-device-for-refugees/, https://ideasforgood.jp/2021/08/30/looop/

https://vimeo.com/639743551

https://www.waveeedesign.com/work-1/looopcan

Looop addresses 3 UN SDGs goals: No Poverty, Clean Water & Sanitation and Reduce inequalities.

​​Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Using reusable menstruation pad sets and a cleaning kit adapted from recycled food can bring a cost-effective solution to reduce period poverty in the refugee camp that has limited financial access to get resources. Period poverty will bring stigma and reduce spatial mobility owing to the fear of period blood leakage. While Looop Can is expected to benefit the region with resources and using reusable menstruation pad sets and a cleaning kit adapted from recycled food can bring a cost-effective solution to reduce period poverty in the refugee camp who have limited financial access to get resources.

Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Looop Can aim to provide accessibility to menstrual health management without discrimination and protect human dignity and privacy. Not only does it reinforce the stigma associated with menstruation but also reduce the knock-on effect on the enjoyment of other rights i.e. freedom of movement, right to health, security, access to education. Especially temporary toilets are scarce in refugee camps, women suffer the most owing to the forced retention for prolonged hours and have to walk long distances alone for the hygiene facilities.

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Lack of privacy, inadequate lighting, and long-distance toilets and showers foster risks of gender-based violence (GBV) in the sites. Looop Can can prevent GBV in the refugee camp as users can wash their pads in their shelter without risking going out at night for the toilet.

Given that women and girls are usually the ones who fetch water, Looop Can enable women and girls to manage their menstrual hygiene within a short distance and in a private area which
protect their human dignity and as well as access to opportunities such as education.

Looop aims to serve not only the refugee or asylum seekers: any menstruators who suffer financial difficulty, live in water scarcity regions or even just want to menstruate in a sustainable way.

While I am finishing this application, I am having my period and thinking about the pad collection in my bathroom. It must be remembered that these resources are still not accessible in many contexts such as menstruators are not willing to spend on pads when they need to spend on water or food. The environmental disaster caused by menstrual pollution will be another reason to promote Looop. The average user in the global north uses 11,000 pads/ tampons in a lifetime, creating 125 to 150 kg of waste and 7 kg carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere each year. People living in 21 st century are so used to disposable menstrual products that are made out of plastic and take 500 years to biodegrade. Changing our behaviour like washing menstrual blood in public areas required a stable clean water supply. But it also required a positive attitude against old menstrual stigma and fears of people being made dirty through menstrual blood. Looop will be the tool to overcome cultural judgment and give a gradual shift in menstrual comprehension.