Pad made of dragon fruit peels by Vietnamese girls wins The Earth Prize 2022
(VOVWORLD) - Team Adorbsies, made up of three Vietnamese girls, has been proclaimed as the recipient of the 100,000 USD grand prize that comes with "The Earth Prize 2022 Winner" title.
 The Vietnamese winners of The Earth Prize 2022 (from left): Luong Anh Khanh Huyen, Bui Tu Uyen and Tran Quynh Anh. (Source: sohuutritue.net.vn) |
The girls are 15-year-old Tran Quynh Anh from Ho Chi Minh City, and 17-year-old Bui Tu Uyen and 16-year-old Luong Anh Khanh Huyen, both from Hanoi.
The winning idea is the “Adorbsy” biodegradable menstrual pad. As the students explained in their submission, due to a drop in dragon fruit sales caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam was suddenly forced to deal with considerable amounts of unsold fruits, with an initial plan of simply burning it.
The students had already been thinking of a project linked to making more eco-friendly menstrual pads - as they were virtually non-existent in the Vietnamese market - when Uyen learned about the absorbent properties of dragon fruit peels.
Launched by The Earth Foundation in September 2021, The Earth Prize is a global 200,000 USD environmental sustainability competition for students between the ages of 13 and 19.