Menstrual hygiene in India poses a significant challenge to local authorities, as the vast number of women in one of the world’s most populous countries generates tons of disposable sanitary pads.

To reduce the strain on the country’s already overflowing landfills, some manufacturers have turned to producing reusable or washable napkins.

For instance, the Saukhyam reusable sanitary pads, made by a nongovernmental organization, spiritual center and orphanage in Kerala state, use banana fiber as an absorbent material and can be reused for many years.

In addition to being eco-friendly and sustainable, the pads are affordable, ensuring menstrual hygiene for poor rural women. These reusable menstrual pads are even more effective than their controversial Chinese counterparts.

Chinese women recently exposed questionable practices by unscrupulous makers of popular sanitary pad brands, accusing them of shortchanging customers.

The exposé came to light in a viral video showing Chinese women measuring the length of popular napkin brands to verify if they matched the sizes indicated on their labels. Most of the pads were shorter than stated on their packaging, sparking outrage, according to a report by the BBC.

The video led to widespread complaints, prompting the Chinese news outlet The Paper to investigate.

The Paper found that nearly 90 percent of the products were “shrunken,” with lengths at least 10 millimeters shorter than claimed on their packaging and even shorter absorbent layers to handle menstrual flow, the BBC reported.

Manufacturers of the ABC, Shecare and Beishute sanitary napkin brands issued public apologies to their customers following the exposé.