https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/press-centre/press-release/2022/452194

Biodegradable pads and tampons to combat period poverty: Rafaella de Bona Gonçalves named Young Inventors prize 2022 finalist

24.05.2022

in Press release

Brazilian inventor Rafaella de Bona Gonçalves selected for European Patent Office (EPO) prize for her sustainable period products for disadvantaged groups
The biodegradable plant-fibre-based tampons and pads are designed to be low cost and made accessible solidarity business models
Pads intended to be launched in buy-one, give-one campaign

Munich, 24 May 202 2 - Brazilian product and service designer Rafaella de Bona Gonçalves has been nominated for the inaugural Young Inventors prize from the European Patent Office (EPO) for developing biodegradable sanitary pads and tampons to improve menstrual hygiene for disadvantaged groups. She used banana waste fibre to develop first a tampon roll design for homeless women and, later, a multi-function biodegradable sanitary pad that is aimed to be sold on a buy-one, give-one basis.

With her product designs, de Bona Gonçalves hopes to use bamboo liner, cellulose, soy foam and banana fibre as materials to help address period poverty - the inadequate access to sanitary products, washing facilities, and waste management affecting at least 500 million women around the world every month.

"Rafaela de Bona Gonçalves' approach to problem solving is clever and empathetic. It tackles two issues simultaneously: it increases women's access to needed sanitary products while at the same time turning a waste stream into a valuable material," says EPO President António Campinos, announcing the Young Inventors prize 2022 finalists. "What began as a solo college project has transformed into a promising social enterprise with a network of committed partners and a product with the potential positively impact many women's lives."

De Bona Gonçalves is named as one of three finalists of the new Young Inventors prize, which the EPO to encourage the next generation of inventors. The prize recognises young innovators aged 30 or under who have developed solutions to tackle global problems and help reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The winners of the Young Inventors prize 2022 will be announced at the EPO's European Inventor Award virtual ceremony, which will be held on 21 June.

Designing for period poverty

De Bona Gonçalves came up with the idea to develop a menstrual product specifically for homeless women while taking a course on design solutions tackling the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as part of her degree studies. "Talking to homeless people, I discovered the problem known as period poverty," explains de Bona Gonçalves. "For me, it was a shocking discovery as I hadn't thought about it before. I thought, ‘I am a woman and I didn't know about it. Who is looking at this problem?' And so, I chose to make a product addressing it."

Homeless women may not have underwear to hold pads in place, nor anywhere to wash menstrual cups, so de Bona Gonçalves developed a disposable, fully biodegradable tampon that does not create plastic waste. While researching materials, she came across an Indian company making menstrual pads from the post-harvest waste material of banana fibre - a plentiful resource in Brazil. Her product was conceived as a toilet paper-like roller which unspools connected sheets of absorbent, layered banana-fibre material, which can be torn off, unfolded and rolled up into tampons of any size. Having developed a handmade, mock-up prototype, de Bona Gonçalves became aware of distribution issues and pivoted to creating a second product - another biodegradable sanitary product that can either be used as a sanitary pad with adhesive strips or torn along perforations to be converted into two tampons, depending on preference or personal living circumstances.

Pads for the people

De Bona Gonçalves' first product (patent pending), called "Maria - intimate absorbent" - was designed to be distributed for free by local governments, but as this was not possible she turned to social enterprise models for inspiration. She settled on a "buy one, give one" approach that involves selling a premium product - her second version - that then pays for donating another one to those who cannot afford to pay for it. In 2021, she launched an awareness campaign called "Eu. Faço Parte" ("I take part") based on the product concept and won several design awards.

De Bona Gonçalves is currently working with EcoCiclo, a young women-led Brazilian online marketplace for sustainable, women-made products, to further develop the pads and bring them to market. The current design uses a soft bamboo fibre for the first layer, banana fibre, soy foam or wood cellulose for the second and a waterproof, biodegradable outer layer. The banana fibre is supplied by the women-run Rede Mulheres de fibra cooperative, which also makes other products using banana waste and employs disadvantaged women. The next step is to source funding for the machinery needed to scale up production and cut costs, as the absorbent pads are currently hand-made. They hope to start selling the "Eu. Faço Parte" pads through a campaign on EcoCiclo.

Notes to the editor

About the inventor

Rafaella de Bona Gonçalves, 25, was born in Curitiba, Brazil. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in product design from the Federal University of Paraná in 2020, winning the 2019 iF Design Talent Award for her graduation project. Since May 2021, de Bona Gonçalves has worked full-time as a UX researcher and service designer for the healthcare services company Robot Laura. De Bona Gonçalves was a speaker at TEDx in 2019 and has been recognised with further honours and awards including a silver Bornancini Design Award in 2020, as well as the Diseño Responde prize and the Tomie Ohtake e Leroy Merlin Design Award in 2021.

View the video and photo material for Rafaella de Bona Gonçalves

About the Young Inventors prize

The European Patent Office established the Young Inventors prize in 2021 to inspire the next generation of inventors. Aimed at innovators aged 30 or below from all around the world, it recognises initiatives that use technology to contribute toward the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The winner will receive EUR 20 000, the second and third placed finalists will receive EUR 10 000 and EUR 5 000, respectively. An independent jury comprising former finalists of the European Inventor Award selects the finalists and winner. The EPO will confer the inaugural prize at the European Inventor Award virtual ceremony on 21 June. Unlike the traditional Award categories, the Young Inventors prize finalists do not need a granted European patent to be considered for the prize. Read more on the Young Inventors prize eligibility and selection criteria.

About the EPO

With 6 400 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.