Conscious about your environmental impact? Switching from your plastic toothbrush to a bamboo one is an easy fix.
Tooth brushing is an ancient habit that crossed centuries and civilizations.
The Egyptians used powdered ox hooves and eggshells, the Greeks’ rough cloths and the Romans sticks with frayed ends. The edge of aromatic twigs were used as natural toothbrushes in India and the Middle East.
About 800 years ago, the Chinese started attaching animal hairs to bamboo or ivory handles and travellers brought them to Europe during the Middle Ages.
In 1938 DuPont introduced the first modern toothbrush with nylon fibers. After World War II, when military hygiene habits spread to the civil population, the tootbrush became a staple in every bathroom.
Toothbrushing is a healthy habit with a huge environmental impact.
Toothbrushes are made of different materials, such as polypropylene, rubber and nylon. As they are diffcult to separate, we simply throw the whole tootbrush in the trash bin.
As such, used toothbrushes pile up in landfills, slowly decompose and make their ways to rivers and oceans.
A recent study compares an electric toothbrush and three manual ones, with plastic and bamboo handle.
Theoretically a continuously recycled plastic toothbrush would be the most environmentally friendly alternative.
However, such an option is not so easy to find in supermarkets and grocery stores.
As such, bamboo toothbrushes may just be the next best thing. Here’s why:
- It’s very adaptable and can grow in both warm and cold regions. This can limit transport costs and related emissions;
- It has numerous applications from construction, to textile and houseware production;
- It’s fully recyclable and fully biodegradable;
- It grows fast, needs little watering and no pesticides
Most supermarket chains offer bamboo toothbrushes at a price comparable to their plastic alternative and their packaging is often recyclable. And for those who want to go further, ditching the plastic tube and making homemade toothpaste is super easy!
In conclusion, as consumers we have less and less excuses to stick to high impact products. I, for one, I’m sold!