Chinese designers upcycle menstrual packaging into handbags 

A new campaign in China is confronting menstrual stigma and unsustainable packaging habits by transforming sanitary product packaging into handbags.

The #Nohiding initiative repurposes the often-discarded pouches of sanitary napkins through fashion design. Most plastic material from sanitary pad pouches is waterproof, and has been developed to prevent contamination during handling and transportation. 

Recognizing its durability and symbolism, the campaign’s designer reimagines this material through a casual, anti-mainstream aesthetic. Each handbag is crafted with visible stitching, turning packaging waste into a statement piece.

The design aims to challenge the layers of concealment traditionally added to menstrual products. In many parts of Asia, sanitary pads are wrapped in plastic pouches, then further concealed in opaque bags — often made from single-use plastic — at checkout or during shop delivery.

This extra packaging increases environmental waste and adds a financial burden. According to the UN Population Fund, such stigma-driven costs perpetuate social and economic inequality. 

The bags incorporate trendy design features, such as dopamine color palettes and minimalist art styles.Yao, the organizer of the #Nohiding initiative, tells Packaging Insights: “Even though my generation has had access to feminist education and global discourse, many of us still carry the residue of menstrual shame. I decided to confront it with an act of reversal. I began turning used sanitary pad pouches, contributed by my female friends, into functional bags.”

Sparking conversation

UNICEF has called for open discussions about menstruation to be encouraged in the community at large. Yao shares that throughout the project, the handbag has led to open and honest conversations about the female body, menstruation, and boundaries.

Working alongside models Paolo Liu and Yi Wang, each bag is crafted from the packaging of various sanitary product brands, featuring a unique, one-of-a-kind design that tells its own story.

“Creating the bags isn’t about demanding that everyone show it off.” She says the design is about using creativity to celebrate the healthy and natural part of the reproductive cycle, and “using conversation to soften shame.”

“To me, #Nohiding is a response to a social inertia that exists deeply in Chinese society, the behaviors that seem ‘natural’ and passed down quietly over generations. And sometimes, it takes just one small reversal, a single, visible choice, to shift what’s been taken for granted.”