[GREEN PERSONAL CARE] Plastic free toothbrush: Bamboo toothbrush!

If you are thinking we have a all our green living seems to be focused around going plastic free and so we talk about it all the time, you are wrong. The thing is plastic is all around us from small things to big, from personal care to sports clothing to running sneakers, drinking bottles, toothbrush, containers just everything you can imagine. So we keep coming back to plastic at almost every step of eco-friendly living and conscious consumption.

Plastic not so fantastic

And by now you all know dear readers that plastic is harmful because it doesn’t decompose easily taking 500-1000 years. And given the amount of plastic we consume and discard, it’s choking our planet from the oceans to the mountains. Which is why it’s become important to take a step back and see where we can substitute it with natural materials and become more careful consumers.

Solving the plastic problem

There are many great brands trying to help solve this problem from Pharell Williams G-star Ocean Raw denim range that makes its premium jeans from recycled ocean plastic to running sneaker brands and even the biggies like Nike and Under Armour using plastic bottles to make sports clothing. Recently the French Government also banned the use of single-time use disposable plastic like straws, drinking cups, cutlery etc. We even covered a great initiative focused at reducing straw consumption.

Today we introduce you to another great initiative – plastic free toothbrush made from all-natural bamboo by Ecobamboo.

Plastic pollution involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or humans. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized into micro-, meso-, or macrodebris, based on size. The prominence of plastic pollution is correlated with plastics being inexpensive and durable, which lends to high levels of plastics used by humans. However, it is slow to degrade. Plastic pollution already unfavorably affect lands, waterways and oceans. Living organisms, particularly marine animals, are also affected through entanglement, direct ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that cause interruptions in biological functions. Humans are also affected by plastic pollution, such as through the disruption of the thyroid hormone axis or hormone levels.

Shocking figures!

There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic trash in the world’s oceans, and each year, 8 million tons of plastic are added to the count. That’s equivalent to one municipal garbage truck pulling up to the beach and dumping its contents every minute. Though the oceans seem vast enough to stomach a lot of plastic, the level of waste is starting to reach a crisis point: According to a new report by the Ocean Conservancy, in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, by 2025, the ocean could contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fin-fish.

Meet Ecobamboo!

Even one small plastic toothbrush needs 500 years to degrade. Imagine this worldwide used product by every single person. And to think we change it every 3-5 weeks. Recently a reader wrote to us asking if we could challenge big firms like Procter & Gamble to launch a big plastic recycling program to systematically take back all plastic from toothbrushes to shower-gel bottles, home-care products like bathroom cleaners, detergent containers to recycle.
While we are working on ideas, we also discovered this fabulous brand of bamboo toothbrushes which is already available across Europe. So read and lay your hands on it! In 2013 company ECO INNOVATIONS from Poland created 100% biodegradable toothbrush.

Why Bamboo?

Bamboo emits ions which works antibacterial. It is the fastest growing plant on earth. It can grow 1m in 24h in the first stage.
Toothbrush is made of moso bamboo which is not eaten by pandas. It has biodegradable nylon4 bristles which are BPA FREE (read why you need to use BPA free products). The company produces their toothbrushes in their own workshops in India. In addition they use bamboo which is plant by private farmers.
There are many kind of handles and softness of bristles in Ecobamboo models.
Even the packaging is environmentally friendly. Each brush is secured in a transparent foil or non-transparent and cardboard which is biodegradable. The bamboo toothbrushes are packed in transparent biodegradable bags which are made of plant fiber (rest of corn starch).

The bamboo toothbrush costs 3,50€ + Shipment. Worldwide shipment is possible. You can purchase the toothbrush here.

Ecobamboo is now a popular in Europe and their products are available in Poland, Austria, France, Germany & Switzerland. Since Ecobamboo is looking to expand to other countries, if you are interested, or know someone who would be, in a B2B query, write in to us or Ecobamboo.

Hope you switch to plastic-free living as much as possible dear readers and increase your own green footprint for the sake of our own health and the world we live in 🙂