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MensiBag
Sept 2022 - Dec 2022
a discreet, portable way to clean reusable period products
Background
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In North America, close to 20 billion sanitary napkins, tampons and applicators are sent to landfills every year.
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The average person who menstruates throws away about 400 pounds of packaging from disposable period products over their lifetime.
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There are many hurdles in the way of sustainable menstrual product adoption, including differences in comfort level, cost, and lack of awareness.
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There is a negative stigma surrounding menstruation. This prevents many from exploring reusable products because disposable products offer more convenience.
Product Opportunity Gap Generation & Selection
To begin POG generation, the team brainstormed on Google Jamboard from initial secondary research on sustainable period products.
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How might we improve methods for cleaning reusable period products by addressing discretion and efficiency?
User Research
We started with a preliminary qualitative user survey to understand current practices, awareness, and largest hurdles towards eco-friendly period product adoption.
We then conducted 1-1 interviews with people who use reusable period products (menstrual cups and period underwear) to understand the challenges with cleaning the used product.
We also asked people to journal their menstrual phase to gain a better insight into their daily cleaning and disposal practices.
User Research Insights
Through our survey, we found that people are aware of sustainable period products but many have not tried them personally. Some reasons that held back the users from trying these products include comfort, affordability, convenience, perceived cleanliness, and reliability of current practices.
People seem to find the cleaning process of menstrual products to be too tedious, especially in public places. We showed interviewees some existing reusable period products; some were willing to try them while others were reluctant and did not find the products useful. Cost was also a major factor determining whether or not they would buy the product.
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Supporting quotes from the survey
Supporting quotes from the interviews
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Insights from the journal of a period underwear user
User Personas
From our user research, we brainstormed four main personas to represent the user base our product may reach. Primarily, our personas centered around the different pain points we identified from our users.
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The Activist
Well-educated on sustainable practices and actively challenges herself to be more environmentally friendly
The Novice
Feels uncomfortable and awkward about periods and is hesitant to use anything other than pads
The Student
Has a busy lifestyle and wants to be sustainable, but lives in communal housing with little to no privacy
The Athlete
Has an active, on-the-go lifestyle, and frequently goes backpacking/camping without running water
Key Product Requirements
After gaining insight from the user and competitor research, defining our competitors' value opportunity attributes (VOAs), and evaluating our target VOAs, we generated key requirements that our product should have:
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Give users confidence that the cleaning process is dependable
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Has no leakage and fully cleans product
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Conceal undesirable aspects of the cleaning process (bodily fluids, water leakage, odors, etc.)
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Has minimal assembly or setup
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Appeals to a wide range of users (age, lifestyle, gender expression, aesthetic, etc.)
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Ensure that the product is safe for use in sensitive areas and is free of harmful substances (fragrances, bacteria, etc.)
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Manage the stigma surrounding menstruation, allowing for discreet cleaning
Concept Generation and Selection
After several rounds of ideation and feature combinations, concepts were selected through RWW (Real, Win, Worth It) Voting.
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Ideation
From the key requirements, the team individually generated 10 concepts each. In a team meeting, we each then chose 3 of our designs to be passed around within our team, adding on features, details or comments to the initial concepts.
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After doing this, we noticed some overlap between features and concepts, allowing us to narrow down ideas, leading to more concept generation with higher level features that could be organized based on conventionality and technology level.
These concepts were further developed to visualize the what our product might look like and how it could function.
After RWW voting, final concept was selected.
Final Concept
Period Product Wash Bag
To Use: Place period underwear or reusable pad inside the bag and add water. Reseal the bag and grab the sides of the bag by the handles to perform a manual scrub of the material. Ridges on the inside of the bag will produce the friction necessary to clean the fabric.
Prototyping
Prototype 1
Tote bag with dish sponges attached to the inside
Issue : Materials too thick and rigid. Scrubbing was difficult; handles may be needed for better grip
Prototype 2
A water bladder with cleaning mat attached to the inside + handles and drain
Issue : While material was the perfect malleability, mats were difficult to attach and kept coming off
Prototype 3
A reusable food storage bag with makeup brush cleaning mats on the inside of the bag. Handles were attached on the outside
Issue : The material was stiffer than the 2nd prototype but still malleable. The structure of our product would need further consideration, and allowing it to stand upright would be useful.
Prototype 1
Prototype 2
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Prototype 3
Final Iteration
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Half-seal to allow easy cleaning and air drying of bag
Material consideration:
The bag should be made of a soft material to allow flexibility and movement while also giving structure to stand on its own. The material cannot be absorbent and should be waterproof.
Handles on the sides allow for better grip of the product's insides to ensure users that they are able to clean as thoroughly as possible
Box-like shape to allow the bag stand on its own and give the user room to perform the cleaning procedure
Clear window to maintain discretion but allow user to view the cleaning process
Drain to avoid user contact with water or waste
Ridges/abrasions on the inside create a washboard-like mechanism to allow thorough cleaning
MensiBag in Action
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Add used period product with water and soap before sealing bag.
Use handles to manually scrub period products.
Open drain to empty water and waste.
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Future Outlook
After receiving feedback on our current conceptual design, we are confident that this is a major opportunity gap to be filled. There are many existing reusable menstrual products that are well-designed and have the ability to make a big impact on sustainability. We believe the next steps toward their adoption involve a shift in focus towards improving the cleaning and comfort of these existing products: How can we convince more people to give them a try?
Our future outlook involves deconstructing our daily routines to close the gap between people who use disposable and reusable period products. There are changes to be made to the aesthetics and tactile features before the MensiBag can become a reality. We believe refining the design to have more elements of self-care and independence, similar to a laundry bag or tote, while ensuring that it stays low-cost and low-tech will improve its chances of being adopted. Further user testing on a higher-fidelity prototype would provide valuable insights at this stage in development.
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