Sustainability: Beyond the Visible

GB Road Donation Drive 2025 , Titli Foundation

“Not everything that counts can be counted.” — Albert Einstein

Much of sustainability discourse prioritizes visibility and quantification, while its most critical dimensions remain overlooked. Practices that cause significant environmental harm often stay outside the

mainstream conversation, not due to lack of impact, but because they are entangled in stigma. Menstrual waste is one such disregarded issue.

The key dimensions of sustainability are an environmental, economical and social balance which ensures long-term survival. Moreover, Menstrual sustainability becomes a vital matter in terms of saving the environment. Most conventional sanitary products contain plastic and take hundreds of years to decompose. Across millions of menstruators use these products, creating an increased degree of plastic waste, which not only overloads landfills but also becomes a menace to future generations. 

Many NGOs are working towards sustainability, one such organisation being the Titli Foundation. Through menstrual health education and awareness around reusable and eco-friendly alternatives, the foundation approaches sustainability at its most fundamental level: breaking the taboo. By which it becomes evident that sustainable solutions are ineffective without dignity, accessibility, and careful choices. Education, rather than mere distribution, emerges as the most powerful driver of long-term environmental change.

In contemporary sustainability debates, women’s lived realities are often peripheral. Yet women, particularly adolescent girls, are central to sustainable futures. Using sustainable products like menstrual cups or cloth pads are environmentally friendly and also cost-effective. Instead of spending thousands of rupees every month on plastic, sustainable products allow us to spend on one product and use it for up to 3–5 years.

Hence, we need to remind ourselves that menstruation is a discussion for everyone and not just women. True sustainability cannot be selective. A safer future for coming generations can only be preserved when we collectively break taboos and work together towards a more inclusive and sustainable world.