Performance characteristics of local and imported sanitary pads

This article is a special issue,A comparative study of Zimbabwean manufactured and imported sanitary pads was carried out in order to elucidate the performance characteristics that make them popular with the majority of women. Five different types of the most popular imported and locally made sanitary pads that were determined by a preliminary questionnaire survey were selected and their performance characteristics, that is, absorbency, liquid retention and strike through properties determined. The results show that imported sanitary pads are preferred by Zimbabwean women (47%) due to their performance characteristics such as comfort, odour control, size, absorption, sticking of adhesive, packaging and protection of strike through. Women using local products account for 39% of the sample population and those using both imported and local products 14% and a significant number of women in rural areas (72%) are still using alternative methods due to the prohibitive costs of modern methods of sanitary protection.