!["Even small, habitual changes [can] make a difference."](https://www.thecooldown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-recCUi4LzLhWDoCzs.jpg?w=1920&h=800)
High school student Saanvi Kalia has turned her passion for sustainability into a growing business, providing girls and women with toxin-free menstrual products — and supporting those without access to the self-care items they need.
As detailed by Planet Detroit, a science camp Kalia attended at Schoolcraft College when she was nine years old provided the spark of inspiration, igniting a desire to protect the planet. Then, after she got her first period, Kalia noticed she was creating a lot of plastic waste, discarding as many as 10 pads every day and 12 tampons each menstrual cycle.
She also discovered just how much menstrual product waste adds up. According to one study in the Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, the United States tosses around 12 billion pads and seven million tampons per year. Kalia explained in an interview with Detroit's WDIV Local 4 that these products can take more than 500 years to break down.
She was motivated to do something about the matter, and her dad, Atul Kalia, who has a business and automotive engineering background, fully supported the endeavor. In 2023, at 17 years old, Kalia launched EcoFlo, whose mission is to raise awareness about reusable period underwear.
"Period underwear was the most user-friendly of the options made available to women, while other options were either taboo or considered unsanitary by my family and friends, and it is the least intimidating [to use]," Kalia told Planet Detroit.
The brand's products are crafted to the rigorous Oeko-Tex Standard 100 — free from more than 1,000 harmful substances, including toxic "forever chemicals," or PFAS, which scientists have linked to cancer, reproductive complications, and other health problems.
According to the company, each pair of underwear can absorb 45 milliliters of blood, allowing wearers to use them for four to eight hours. (For comparison, you would have to go through four disposable super tampons to absorb the same volume of blood.)
EcoFlo is also helping girls and women by teaming up with initiatives such as I Support the Girls, which collects and delivers menstrual products to people in crisis. The company also partners with educational institutions including Wayne State University and Michigan State University.
Unfortunately, a lack of access to essential care products is more common than some might realize. The World Bank estimates that 500 million people don't have the tools or infrastructure they need during menstruation, impacting their ability to attend school and work as well as leaving them vulnerable to bullying and societal shaming despite the fact that menstruation is a natural and healthy process.
In 2024, EcoFlo donated 154 pairs of its period underwear, and Kalia hopes her company will reach its donation goal of 250 pairs by the end of this year. Per Planet Detroit, the brand donates one pair for every pair purchased.
The high-waist briefs and bikini-style underwear sell for $25 apiece — a tad more than the average 40-50-count box of tampons. EcoFlo estimates that swapping to reusable period underwear can save users as much as $200 annually.
"Even small, habitual changes [can] make a difference," Kalia told Planet Detroit.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
