The conversations I have in our farm shop on an everyday basis are ever increasingly to do with plastic. One of the ways we can really make a difference is to switch to a bamboo toothbrush.
If you think about the amount of waste created by plastic toothbrushes, it's phenomenal. If you follow your dentists advice, you should change your toothbrush once every 3 months. That's 4 toothbrushes per year for the average person, times that by the number of years we live on average (say 70 - 4 x 70, excluding of course the years you are not brushing because you don't have teeth, that's somewhere close to 280 toothbrushes per person per lifetime!!) These plastic toothbrushes then just sit there in landfill and go nowhere, they are literally on the planet forever! Now ask yourself this - should your dental hygiene come at the expense of the planet? I think not.
Personally I wouldn't go back to a plastic toothbrush now. Bamboo toothbrushes are great, they are sustainable, degradable and do exactly the same job. Until now, we have stocked the Environmental Toothbrush, a great option but the bristles are made from Nylon, meaning they do not biodegrade. I have been searching for a fully degradeable toothbrush for a while now and have finally found a couple of options which I am delighted with.
Curunatura are a Slovakian company producing a natural bamboo toothbrush, from sustainably grown bamboo. The bristles are made of decompostable fibres meaning the whole toothbrush is biologically degradable. Nylon 4 is a BPA and phthalate free, naturally biodegradable polyamide and is widely considered as one of the most tolerable plastics from a health point of view. 90% of the brush is bamboo, with Nylon 4 used in the bristles. The packaging is also compostable - brown paper and cardboard. These are available in our farm shop and via our website www.thepaddock.org.uk or online from sources such as https://www.asliceofgreen.co.uk - a company offering products for sustainable living with eco-friendly packaging.
As you can imagine, I was over the moon the find out about this toothbrush, but even more exciting (I know, I probably need to get out more!!) was to find out about Uncaptive, not only offering a 100% bamboo toothbrush but also a homegrown business based right here in Newcastle. We are delighted to have teamed up with Uncaptive to offer their toothbrushes to our customers as of mid August. This ethical toothbrush is 100% Biodegradable, from handle to bristles. The bristles are infused with charcoal to absorb bacteria, cleaning teeth deeply. Handle and Bristles ethically produced from FSC certified Mao bamboo! Check out their website for ethical, vegan clothing options and they will soon have a shop open in Newcastle. https://www.uncaptive.co.uk
Happy Brushing!
Laura x