Planet-friendly Period Care
Over the last few decades, the period products industry has seen many innovations that have significantly enhanced the performance of period products.
Most of these innovations have primarily focused on either making the product thinner or more high-performing (while reducing the overall cost). The material that has been able to check all these boxes so far has been petrochemical-based plastic; as it is mass produced, it is cost-effective, and from a performance and product manufacturing point of view, it can be easily modified/optimized.
Globally, around 300 billion period products made with a large amount of petrochemical-based plastic are used and discarded every year, resulting in millions of tons of non-biodegradable waste that could remain unchanged for 500-600 years in landfills. In the US alone, around 20 billion period products are discarded every year.
At Sparkle, we believe that products should be designed by not only keeping the performance in mind, but by also focusing on the entire product life-cycle. That’s why we have created our products by replacing the conventional plastic in the different layers of the pad with plant-based ingredients. Our products are also engineered in such a way that whether they end up in an industrial composting facility, or even in a landfill, they offer a more sustainable alternative when compared to their conventional counterparts.
To ensure our plant-based products do not end up in landfills, we developed the BetterCycle program so that Sparkle products can safely go back to the Earth.
Our Core Values
We believe that a company's core values are as important as the products it makes. We are committed to conducting business in a sustainable, ethical, and transparent way by keeping people, the planet, and our purpose at the heart of everything we do.
We embrace diversity, equality, and inclusion. Through our actions, we aim to become a trusted brand for our customers, the best establishment to work at for our existing team members, the employer of choice for any interested candidates, and the partner of choice for our suppliers and other key stakeholders.
We are committed to doing business in a responsible and sustainable manner. We strongly believe that making thoughtful decisions today is the way to move forward and sustain the environment for future generations to come.
We strive to set the highest standards of transparency and integrity in our organization. From making safe, sustainable and high-quality products to fighting for reproductive equity and donating period products to menstruators in need, we always work towards making the world a better place.
Our Story
Sparkle’s story, quite fittingly, started with a spark.
Three, to be precise.
The social and cultural stigma surrounding periods while she was growing up, sparked Hetal to think about all the hurried whispers, hiding, guilty glances, and the almost shameful image that the society had set for its menstruators.
On the other hand, working with a number of nonprofits across the globe and learning about the physiological and socio-economic issues related to the lack of access to period products on the lives of millions of young girls, was the spark that set Chirag on his course.
When Hetal and Chirag came together with different perspectives yet a shared vision, that’s what sparked the inception of their journey to make a positive impact together.
After having explored several paths, they’re now both taking the road less traveled by not just developing sustainable and plant-based period products; they’re also aiming to develop new mindsets, new perspectives, new avenues, and new ways of life for menstruators across the globe.
Hetal Virani
Co-founder | CFO |
COO 
Chartered Accountant, Lawyer, Cost Accountant, Company Secretary
Hetal leads the Finance, Legal and Sales Departments - she also oversees day-to-day operations.
Hetal's Journey
I co-founded Sparkle with two goals in mind:
1. To offer period products that are safe, healthy, and sustainable
2. To work towards breaking the stigma surrounding periods
Hetal’s Story
While growing up, I personally experienced many instances where periods were stigmatized. How can we expect young girls to freely discuss their problems with menstrual hygiene management when they hesitantly lower their voices at the mere mention of the words, ‘period’ or ‘pad’?
Your “time of the month” is nothing to be ashamed of; it is a natural process, as normal as eating or sleeping. In addition, talking about menstruation should never be considered a taboo. Not today. Not ever. In fact, periods are an essential part of all human life, because quite literally without periods, human life would not be possible.
Besides experiencing the stigma surrounding periods, I constantly experienced skin issues and discomfort while using pads from commercial brands. Eventually, I did some research and realized that the artificial fragrances, plastic components, and chemicals present in the pads could have been the main reason behind my constant skin irritation and allergies.
I co-founded Sparkle with two goals in mind:
1. To offer period products that are safe, healthy, and sustainable
2. To work towards breaking the stigma surrounding periods
Chirag and I made our first sustainable sanitary pad in 2017 by replacing the conventional plastics from different layers with plant-based layers. Ultimately, we co-founded Sparkle in 2018 to offer healthy period products that are good for the body and the planet.
Chirag Virani
Co-founder | CEO | CTO
Engineer, MBA
Chirag guides the R&D, Manufacturing, Business Development, and Marketing departments.
Chirag’s Journey
As a husband, I wanted to design a better pad for my wife, who was experiencing skin irritation and allergies from commercial brands that were filled with artificial fragrances and petro-chemical based plastics.
Chirag's Journey
Being a male co-founder in the period products industry has been a truly eventful journey of growth and learning.
After completing my Grad Program at UC Berkeley, I worked with different NGOs in Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, South Africa, and India. As I participated in various outreach programs which included medical camps, HIV counseling, and teaching, I learned about the problems that millions of young girls and women faced during their periods. They used to miss school or work simply because they did not have access to period products; in fact, they used unhygienic rags, papers, or ash to manage their periods.
After we got married, Hetal and I decided to purchase conventional sanitary pads that were available in the market and donate those pads to nonprofits I had worked with. In the process, we started an NGO, United World Foundation, in 2017.
However, as we searched for long-term and scalable solutions, we realized that simply buying sanitary pads from the market and donating them would only solve the problem temporarily. Furthermore, we also realized that while solving the problem of accessibility, we were creating another environmental problem - the conventional pads that we were donating contained a large amount of plastic. These pads would remain unchanged in landfills for centuries after disposal.
Hetal, meanwhile, was also experiencing skin irritation and allergies from commercial brands that were filled with artificial fragrances and petro-chemical based plastics. As a husband (and an engineer), I wanted to design a better pad for my wife.
So, co-founding Sparkle was not one of those single “aha” moments. It was rather a slow, gradual process - something was always there at the back of my head, in my subconscious mind, waiting for the right circumstances to reach the tipping point.
We co-founded Sparkle in 2018 to develop better, healthier and more sustainable period products that are good for the body and the planet.