In the quiet lanes of Khanda, a village in Haryana, a young Sandy Khanda once witnessed girls and women wrap used sanitary pads in paper and toss them into fields. “In rural areas without waste systems, pads are dumped openly, harming soil and water,” he recalls.
That memory, coupled with a near-fatal road accident in 2016, sparked what would become Green Pencil Foundation, a youth-led movement blending menstrual health education with climate action. Today, its flagship campaign, Periods of Pride, has reached more than 2,00,000 women and girls across India, from Punjab to Manipur, and even the remote hills of Uttarakhand.
Cloth Pads: Small Fabric, Big Change
Periods of Pride challenges a double crisis, period poverty and plastic pollution. Its solution is elegantly simple: reusable cloth pads.
“Cloth pads last 2–3 years, are washable, compostable, and toxin-free. My mother and sisters use them and find them very comfortable,” Sandy explains. “They are comfortable, economical, and once they’re used up, they’re fully compostable. No toxins. No plastic.”
For many women, especially in rural communities, this shift is transformative. No more dependence on costly disposables or harmful practices like burying or burning pads. As Sandy says, “this isn’t just about hygiene, it’s about dignity and the planet.”
Breaking Silence, Building Knowledge
Periods of Pride is as much about conversations as it is about cloth pads. Workshops, often held in schools and community halls, are designed not only to teach proper menstrual hygiene but also to break deep-rooted taboos.
“Behavior change in rural areas doesn’t happen in a day,” Sandy admits. “It took us four to five years to see communities open up, but now girls ask questions openly, and even boys listen.”
Men, in fact, have become surprising allies. “In rural areas, many men didn’t even know what periods were,” Sandy says. “But once we engaged them, out of 100 men, 96–98 understand once educated. They simply lacked access to information.”
Climate, Gender, and the Future
Green Pencil Foundation’s work doesn’t end with menstruation. Its eco-gender-friendly libraries, complete with cloth-pad vending machines and vertical gardens, are being developed in Faridabad.
Meanwhile, the team runs Climate Chaupal where citizens discuss environmental issues, alongside plantation drives, waste-management workshops, and Project Happiness, which focuses on mental health awareness in urban slums. In 2025, the foundation launched India Healthcare Foundation, a dedicated arm for health initiatives, further expanding its vision.
“This is my dream,” Sandy says softly. “To reach every village. To make menstruation and sustainability everyday conversations, not taboos.”
From Stigma to Pride
Periods of Pride is more than a campaign, it is proof that one idea born in a small village can ripple across a nation. By turning cloth pads into symbols of empowerment and climate responsibility, Sandy Khanda and his team are stitching together two of India’s biggest silences: periods and the planet.
As Sandy puts it, “If we can talk about periods without shame, we can change much more than hygiene. We can change mindsets. And that is how revolutions begin, quietly, one conversation at a time.”
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The Logical Indian salutes Sandy Khanda’s journey from a quiet village in Haryana to becoming a national voice for menstrual dignity and sustainability. Through Periods of Pride, he has not only addressed a pressing environmental and health issue but also sparked conversations that rural India once avoided.
His work reminds us that true change-makers are those who turn personal observations into collective movements, proving that when compassion meets action, the impact can echo for generations.
