We use toothpaste every single day but toothpaste tubes are currently one of the hardest plastic items to recycle. In order to reduce waste I have tried a variety of different toothpaste options - some that are great and some not so great! Here’s my review of the world of cleaning teeth sustainably.
This toothpaste comes in a 100ml glass jar, is 100% plastic free and is made in the EU. It is also vegan and doesn’t contain any alcohol. The paste is quite thick and tastes a little bit like Fox’s Glacier mints if they were softer. It smells nice and minty and leaves your mouth feeling clean. It contains sea buckthorn, chamomile and aloe vera.You get a little spatula to spread the paste on your brush, which is OK but you do need to keep that clean too. It is on the expensive side plus I would prefer an option that has less waste overall.
I liked this toothpaste in terms of the texture, taste and performance. 5 out of 5 stars.
This toothpaste is 13ml of solid paste on a wooden stick. It is handmade in France and contains organic peppermint oil plus palmitic and stearic acid derived from olives. The idea is that you hold the toothpaste by the stick and put your toothbrush under hot water and then rub the brush over the solid paste. It then sits in your toothbrush holder and when you are finished you put the stick in your compost bin. So it was great from a minimum waste perspective. However, no matter how many times I tried, this paste remained solid and I only felt a faint peppermint oil taste. It really didn’t seem like it became a paste and unfortunately that was a major issue. My teeth didn’t feel clean, just minted. It was also really small.
I didn’t think this toothpaste really worked. 0 out of 5 stars.
These tablets are plastic free, vegan and are made in the UK. They come in a little metal tin that you can refill and they plant a tree for every pack sold. You get 62 tablets in the tin which is one month’s supply. To use you chew one tablet until it turns ‘creamy’, brush as usual and then spit it out. I found that it is a little bit like brushing your teeth with a Smint or Tic Tac. The tablets are OK, however they can be a little gritty. They do the job quite well; my teeth did feel clean and very minty. You must keep the tin closed otherwise condensation from showering etc can soften the tablets. With it being refillable, the waste is minimised.
I quite liked these tablets but would be better if they were not grainy. 4 out of 5 stars.
This toothpaste is made from coconut oil and sodium bicarbonate. It is made in the UK and comes in a 60 ml glass jar. There is no spatula so it was handy that I still had the one from the Ben & Anna toothpaste! The major problem with this toothpaste is the taste and texture when you first put it in your mouth. It initially feels like putty or clay so it can seem like you have mistaken the toothpaste for face cream, which is unpleasant. Fortunately after brushing for a few seconds the thick claggy paste becomes looser and more like a regular textured paste. So every time you use it you know you have to get past the first part in order to feel OK about brushing your teeth. The packaging could be less wasteful too.
I didn't like this toothpaste initially but it does get better. 2 out of 5 stars.
In conclusion, it's a pretty much hit and miss situation in the non-plastic tube toothpaste scene. Ben & Anna is definitely the winner, however it is very expensive and the carbon footprint could be high if transported by road. I would have loved the toothpaste solid stick to have worked as this would be the lowest waste option, but sadly it really didn’t function. The tablets are OK and very light weight for travelling but did feel granular. I persevered with the georganics toothpaste but it was a weird feeling that you are brushing your teeth with something that could be mistaken for a clay face mask.
Do you have any experiences with these toothpastes? Do you have any other recommendations? I’d love to hear from you!
Subscribe to be notified when the latest blog post drops here.
.