Sparkling Sustainability in Hygiene

Interview by Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer & Publisher, IFJ

Sparkle makes planet-friendly period care products from renewable plant-based ingredients that do not contain conventional petrochemical-based plastics (such as polypropylene or polyethylene). Recently, IFJ caught up the Sparkle’s CEO and co-founder, Chirag Virani to learn more about the company and the impact it is making on the marketplace.

International Fiber Journal: Please give us an overview of your company, and how it came about.

Chirag Virani: As a male, my knowledge about periods and pads was very limited before I started working with different NGOs. I was aware of the biological process, but I had no idea about the various physiological or socio-economic issues that menstruators faced during their periods when they did not have access to period products.

After completing my grad program at UC Berkeley, I wanted to put my engineering and business skills to some good use while volunteering at different NGOs in Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, South Africa, India, and Costa Rica. I participated in many outreach programs including medi-