The aim of this project is to develop an environmentally friendly tampon made from seaweed, called ‘TangPon’. This is intended to combine the medically beneficial properties of algae fibres with the advantages of marine permaculture. The aim is to provide menstruating women with a sustainable and healthy alternative to conventional cotton tampons. At the same time, the production of the Tangpon should help to minimise menstrual waste and contribute to the bioremediation (= ecological relief) of aquatic ecosystems.
According to UNICEF estimates, around 300 million people worldwide menstruate every day, including more than 300,000 people in Germany. The majority of them use disposable products such as tampons, which leads to an annual period waste of around 125,000 tonnes in the DACH region alone. This initiative, represented by the start-up VYLD, recognises the need to develop biodegradable disposable tampons to reduce annual period waste.
Conventional tampons are commercially produced from cotton and viscose, with the cultivation of cotton requiring a lot of fresh water, fertilisers and pesticides and contributing to global deforestation.
In contrast, marine permaculture algae require none of these resources and contribute to the restoration of marine habitats. They grow up to ten times faster than terrestrial plants, efficiently sequester carbon and are naturally recyclable as they can efficiently utilise excess nutrients.
