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Searching for the best eco friendly toothbrush brands to help reduce your carbon footprint?
With most dentists recommending you replace your toothbrush every 3 months, it’s estimated up to 264 million toothbrushes are thrown away each year in the UK alone. Most toothbrushes are also made of plastic, which can take hundreds of years to break down in landfill. Plastic toothbrushes are also hard to recycle, as they contain multiple materials fused together.
So switching to an eco friendly toothbrush made from a sustainable material, such as bamboo, helps reduce this plastic waste. Not only can bamboo decompose in as little as 3-4 months, it’s also a highly sustainable material, as it’s easy to grow & doesn’t require the use of fertilizers.
However, whilst eco friendly toothbrushes are a simple & affordable way to reduce plastic waste, keep in mind that most still contain nylon bristles. Pull these out with pliers & discard or recycle separately.
7 Eco Friendly Toothbrush Brands
1 – Brush With Bamboo
Made from: Bamboo, with bio-based bristles
Best for: Bio-based bristles
This 4 pack of eco friendly toothbrushes from Brush With Bamboo should have you covered for up to a year. Featuring bamboo handles & bio-based bristles ( 62% Castor Bean Oil, 38% plastic), the brush is designed in an ergonomic shape that’s easy to hold. Bristles are soft & the brushes come in compostable plant-based packaging. Not tested on animals.
2 – The Humble Toothbrush Co
Made from: Bamboo, with nylon bristles
Best for: Developed by dentists
Professionally developed by dentists, with over 35 million brushes sold, these eco friendly toothbrushes from The Humble Toothbrush Co are made with bamboo & BPA-free nylon bristles. Choose from soft or medium bristles or smaller sized kid’s brushes. A pack contains 5 toothbrushes & for every one sold, a toothbrush or oral care product is donated to a child in need. Packaging is plant based & compostable.
3 – Battle Green
Made from: Bamboo, with bio-based bristles
Best for: Bristle recycling service
UK based Battle Green have been offering eco friendly alternatives to single use plastic products since 2018. With an emphasis on zero waste, their whole product range is also vegan friendly. The Battle Green toothbrush is handmade from bamboo & bio-based bristles, which are derived from castor oil. Although renewable, bio-based bristles require industrial composting, so Battle Green give you the option to return your used bristles (or the toothbrush head) to them for recycling. Get in touch with them for more info.
4 – Isshah
Made from: Bamboo, with charcoal infused nylon bristles
Best for: Value for money
With 12 eco friendly toothbrushes in a pack, these biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes from ISSHAH are excellent value. The nylon bristles are infused with charcoal, which has absorbent properties that may help remove stains. Designed under the guidance of dentists, the brushes have soft bristles & labelled with a number from 1 to 12, so you won’t get them mixed up. Packaging is recyclable.
5 – Bleeker and Rowe
Made from: Cornstarch, with nylon bristles
Best for: Bamboo alternative
For an eco alternative to bamboo try Bleeker & Rowe. Their packs of 3, 10 (or 100!) eco friendly toothbrushes are made from a mix of corn starch & corn husk. With a low carbon footprint the brush handles are biodegradable, vegan friendly & cruelty free. Brushes are individually wrapped in recyclable, biodegradable packaging & bristles are made from nylon.
6 – Jack N Jill Cornstarch Toothbrush
Made from: Corn, with nylon bristles
Best for? Toddlers/young kids
If it’s an eco friendly toothbrush for kids you’re after, check out the Jack N Jill Dino Toothbrush with its compostable cornstarch handle. Ergonomically designed for small hands, the toothbrush is suitable for baby teeth, toddlers & younger kids. Bristles are soft nylon, but the handle is biodegradable, vegan & GMO-free. Packaging is also biodegradable & made from corn. Jack N Jill also produce a popular range of natural toothpaste for children.
7 – Gaia Guy
Made from: Bamboo, with board hair bristles
Best for: Fully biodegradable
If nylon or bio-based bristles just don’t cut it or you, Gaia Guy produce a fully biodegradable eco friendly toothbrushe. Handmade with a bamboo handle & boar bristles, this planet friendly toothbrush is completely natural. Don’t be put off by the boar bristles (unless you’re vegan) – some of the very first toothbrushes were made with pig hair, which is naturally soft & biodegradable. Available in packs of 6 in recyclable packaging.
How To Dispose Of A Bamboo (Or Eco) Toothbrush
Any product containing mixed parts can pose a problem when recycling. So whilst investing in an eco friendly bamboo toothbrush is a simple way to reduce plastic waste, keep in mind many contain nylon bristles. These don’t biodegrade well.
So before you place your bamboo toothbrush handle into a recycling bin or your home compost, (or a commercial composting facility if you have one near you), pull the bristles out with a pair of pliers. This is easy to do and should only take you a few moments.
Then discard of the bristles separately in your trash or recycle them into a plastic recycling bin (they’re unlikely to realistically get recycled in a mixed recycling bin due to their small size).
Eco toothbrushes may also contain bio-based bristles. Whilst bio-based plastics are derived from plants & other renewable materials (rather than fossil based, non renewable sources), you should still remove them with pliers & discard separately.
Some brands, such as Battle Green, may also accept bristles back for recycling.
Here’s a guide on how to dispose of a bamboo toothbrush, including some handy recycling ideas.
Eco Friendly Toothbrush FAQS
Still have questions about eco friendly toothbrushes? These might help:
Eco Friendly Toothbrush Brands – Conclusion
Switching to an eco friendly toothbrush is an easy way to help reduce plastic waste.
Bamboo toothbrushes are generally the most common alternative to plastic & they’re designed in the same way as any plastic toothbrush.
However, as a more sustainable material, which also biodegrades quicker than plastic, bamboo is considered a more environmentally sound option.
Keep in mind, many eco friendly toothbrushes still contain nylon bristles, so pull these out with pliers when you’re done with your brush & discard them separately.
For a toothbrush that’s fully biodegradable, you’ve also got the option of a toothbrush made from a material like bamboo, with natural boar bristles.
