Asan Cup: Innovative Menstrual Cup and App Tackle Period Poverty and Plastic Pollution

yanabijoor
1 day ago
4 min read

Updated: 23 hours ago

Menstrual health and environmental sustainability are often discussed separately, but Asan Cup, a UK-based social enterprise, is tackling both with innovative solutions. Founded by Ira Guha, Asan Cup addresses period poverty and the environmental damage caused by disposable period products. Here’s a look at the problem Asan Cup is solving, its unique solution, why it’s innovative, its impact, and what still needs improvement.

What Problem Is Asan Cup Solving?

Globally, over 2 billion people menstruate, using an estimated 200 billion disposable pads and tampons annually. These products, often made up of up to 90% plastic, take 500–800 years to decompose, contributing to landfill waste, ocean pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK alone, 2 billion period products are flushed yearly, clogging sewage systems and harming marine life. Additionally, period poverty, a lack of access to safe, affordable menstrual products, affects millions, particularly low-income women and girls, leading to missed school or work days and health issues like infections from poor-quality products. In India, for instance, period poverty results in an annual GDP loss of $87 billion due to absenteeism.

Cultural taboos and limited awareness further exacerbate these issues, leaving the environmental and social impacts of period products largely unaddressed. Asan Cup aims to break this cycle by offering a sustainable alternative and raising awareness about menstrual health.

What Is the Asan Cup Solution?

Asan Cup offers a two-pronged solution: a reusable menstrual cup and a free period tracking app.

Asan Menstrual Cup: Designed and patented at the Harvard Innovation Lab, the Asan Cup is made from medical-grade silicone, lasts up to 10 years, and replaces approximately 2,500 disposable pads or tampons per user. Its unique removal ring makes it easier to use compared to other cups. Priced at around ₹1,800 (roughly $22 USD), it’s a cost-effective alternative to the ₹30,000–35,000 spent on disposables over a decade. Asan’s “buy one, donate one” model ensures that for every cup sold, one is donated to a low-income woman, paired with menstrual health education to combat period poverty.
Asan Period Tracker App: Launched recently with support from Innovate UK’s Unlocking Potential Award, this app allows users to track menstrual cycles, moods, symptoms, and environmental impact. It provides real-time data on savings, waste diverted from landfills, and CO2 emissions reduced by choosing sustainable period products, such as menstrual cups, discs, or period underwear. The app is free, prioritizes user privacy with anonymized data, and features a minimalistic interface designed by an all-female team.

Ira Guha, Founder of Asan Cup

Why Is the Solution Innovative?

Asan Cup’s solution stands out for several reasons:

Dual Focus on Health and Environment: Unlike most period tracking apps that focus solely on fertility, Asan’s app covers all phases of the menstrual cycle (follicular, ovulatory, luteal, and menstrual) and educates users about their health while highlighting the environmental impact of their product choices. This bridges a critical gap between menstrual health and sustainability.
User-Centric Design: The Asan Cup’s patented removal ring addresses common usability issues, making it accessible to new users, including teens and rural women. The app’s intuitive design and privacy-first approach (no data sharing or in-app ads) cater to user needs in a market where paid analytics are common.
Social Impact Integration: The “buy one, donate one” model, combined with education programs led by local health workers, ensures sustainable adoption in underserved communities. This approach tackles cultural barriers and builds trust, particularly in rural areas.
Scalable Impact: By combining a physical product with a digital tool, Asan creates a holistic ecosystem that empowers users to make informed choices while scaling its social and environmental impact through partnerships and wholesale distribution.

What Impact Has the Asan Cup Had?

Since its launch in 2021, Asan Cup has made significant strides:

Global Reach: Over 100,000 Asan Cups have been sold across 12 countries in Asia, Africa, the UK, and the EU, with plans to expand to the US, France, and Germany.
Social Impact: Through its donation program, Asan has reached over 100,000 low-income women, including 30,000 in 100 villages in Bengaluru’s Kanakapura region, creating the world’s largest menstrual cup adoption program. In Malawi and Zanzibar, 5,000 and 2,000 cups have been distributed, respectively. These efforts have enabled women and girls to attend school and work during their periods, saving household costs and increasing productivity.
Environmental Impact: Asan has prevented over 200,000 tonnes of landfill waste by replacing disposable products with reusable ones. Each cup averts the waste of 2,500 pads or tampons, significantly reducing plastic pollution and CO2 emissions.
Recognition and Growth: Asan has won prestigious awards, including the Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellowship, Innovate UK Unlocking Potential Award, and Amazon Sustainability Accelerator. The company has tripled in growth, with an annual run rate of $500,000.
App Adoption: The Asan Period Tracker app has garnered over 1,000 downloads shortly after launch, engaging its community of cup users and promoting menstrual health education.

Testimonials from users highlight how the cup has eliminated health issues like rashes, reduced waste, and restored confidence by removing the fear of stains.

What Needs to Be Improved?

Despite its achievements, the Asan Cup faces challenges and areas for growth:

Behavioral Change: Convincing women to switch from disposable products to reusable cups remains difficult due to cultural taboos, misinformation, and skepticism about insertable devices. Asan must continue its education campaigns, particularly in conservative regions, to normalize the use of menstrual cups.
Scalability of Donations: While the “buy one, donate one” model is impactful, it’s insufficient to address the needs of millions of women facing period poverty. Expanding wholesale partnerships and securing more funding could help scale the donation program.
App Enhancements: The app is in its early stages, and Guha plans to add an AI chatbot to answer health queries, which could improve user engagement. Expanding language options and accessibility features could also reach a more diverse user base.
Market Expansion: Entering new markets, such as the US and EU, requires navigating regulatory hurdles and competition from established brands. Asan will need to strengthen its marketing and distribution strategies to compete effectively.
Industry Resistance: Large manufacturers of disposable products have little incentive to promote reusables, limiting their visibility. Asan could advocate for policy changes to encourage the use of sustainable products in retail and public health systems.