Here’s how I brush and floss every day. You?
Eco-Dent’s GentleFloss. This plastic-free, vegan, recyclable and biodegradable dental floss comes in a recyclable paper package printed with soy ink. Cost: $5.49 for 100 yards at Co-opportunity — A per-yard price that’s comparable to “regular” dental floss.
How does the eco-dental floss feel and work? Like dental floss, plus or minus the flavors depending on whether you get plain or cinnamon or mint varieties.
Tom’s of Maine Natural Whole Care Toothpaste — Spearmint. This stuff works great and feels refreshing — and apparently provides “anticavity & tartar control plus whitening.” I stock up on multiple tubes whenever they go on sale at the Co-op.
Yes, I know Tom’s of Maine got bought up by Colgate. We do indeed live in strange times, when some of the most effective and most eco products on the market are owned by big bad corporations we avoided for years.
And yes, I know not all Tom’s of Maine toothpastes are satisfactory. I hate the fennel flavor, for example, which I bought by accident once. Katharine Wroth of Grist isn’t a fan of the Cinnamon-Clove flavor, which she bought on purpose for reasons I don’t quite understand. I’m also not a fan of the sodium lauryl sulfate-free option, because the stuff just isn’t as refreshing as the SLS-containing options. I’d also like to point out that despite its bad rep among green circles, Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database gives SLS a “low hazard” score of 2. I still have the one tube of this stuff I bought like half a year ago — and use it whenever I have a canker sore because I read somewhere that SLS can irritate cankersores.
Ekotec toothbrush. I love this toothbrush for two reasons. One: Since I can buy replaceable heads for this toothbrush, it’s quite eco! Two: At $4.95 for a brush with two replacement heads, this toothbrush is a great bargain. You can buy just the refill heads too, making your toothbrush handle last a really really long time –
The toothbrush is well-crafted. No, the heads don’t pop off mid-brush. In fact, they’re a bit challenging to pop off when you want to replace them. The new heads click on easily though –
Be good to your teeth –
Middle photo via amazon
hey what a coincidence i just bought the Spearmint stuff this weekend, thanks to the coupon i got in my local Eco-metro coupon book: (http://www.ecometro.com/splash.aspx).
i didn’t notice ’til i got home that it had fluoride in it, which i usually try to avoid. i canceled the thought of it being bad though, telling myself i won’t buy it next time. but it tastes/feels yummy.
Comment by mel — February 23, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
Tom’s has a crazy assortment of toothpastes.. there’s one for everyone. (although finding the right one can be tricky, as most stores don’t carry the whole range, and the boxes are hard to tell apart)
I like the peppermint one with fluoride and baking soda.
I use a recycline toothbrush. I like the angle on the handle, and they have good bristles. Save them up until you have a half dozen or so, and send them in for downcycling (into plastic lumber, IIRC)
Comment by Tim Buchheim — February 24, 2009 @ 12:38 pm
Thank you for sharing this info as there are no products here in East Texas like these.
Comment by Linda — February 24, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
I love Eco-Dent floss, especially because the package containers nearly zero plastic.
Tom’s of Maine toothpaste is the only one, as far as I know, that still comes in a recyclable aluminum tube, and you can send it back to the company for recycling. But there may be some BPA on the inside:
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2009/01/bpa-in-your-toothpaste-recycling-tubes.html
I like the Preserve toothbrush because the company takes them back. I’m all for Extended Producer Responsibility as demonstrated through take back programs!
Comment by Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish — February 24, 2009 @ 7:53 pm