Do you brush your teeth with a toxic toothbrush?

As part of my journey ‘back to nature’ I am looking to swap my current everyday items to eco-friendlier, cruelty free products. One great concern of mine was the statistics on plastic toothbrushes – which let’s be honest are in pretty much every household! Every year approximately 1 billion (yes one billion) toothbrushes are thrown away each YEAR in the US with 50 million pounds’ worth of toothbrushes arriving at landfills annually. If these statistics don’t shock you – then here are a few more: toothbrushes find their way to oceans and waterways where marine creatures mistake them for food and ingest polypropylene plastic, these toothbrushes are made of nylon & polypropylene plastic and sourced with non-renewable fossil fuels and manufacturing nylon creates nitrous oxide which is 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Scary?

It is when we are putting these objects in contact with our bodies. Taking all this into account, it was time for me to use an alternative and I chose the F.E.T.E (from earth to earth) bamboo toothbrush. Their range is completely 100% biodegradable and can be placed into your compost bin once you have finished using it. Bamboo is the world’s fastest naturally growing renewable source which has inherent anti-fungal, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties – if you are like me reading all this so far, you are sold already! F.E.T.E offer a range of toothbrush colours, firstly making it easier to decipher whose is whose, but more importantly if you’re like me, enabling you to buy your favourite coloured eco-friendly toothbrush.

When my bamboo toothbrush arrived in the post I was impressed to see that there was no plastic packaging in sight. The toothbrush had a paper case around it and was encased in a cardboard casing. Each toothbrush is made from eco-friendly bamboo, biodegradable nylon bristles and they come in a range of colours to choose from for all the family. What’s great about these brushes is that once you finish your use with it as a toothbrush they can be used in the garden as plant sticks or fibbers, use them for household cleaning or place in the compost bin - a very nice addition to my ‘back to nature’ lifestyle.

Upon my first few brushes one thing I noticed was how soft and gentle the brush and bristles were in my mouth. The feel of the bamboo was so natural and organic – it instantly created a positive feeling as there was no harshness or hardness to the brush against my skin. The bristles were soft and I felt like they hadn’t cleaned my teeth or gums properly at first due to the lack of rough scrapping my previous plastic toothbrushes had given to my teeth and gums. However, upon looking in the mirror it was evident that my teeth were sparkling clean and the brush had done its job, in a kinder and gentler way! This toothbrush is amazing and I will not be going back to using a plastic toothbrush. I will also be making the move to bamboo toothbrushes for all of my family.

F.E.T.E. have a range of purchasing options; they come in single toothbrushes in which you choose which colour option you would like (adult or child version) as well as family packs – including a vegan family pack option too. One comment I have given back is that there are no family pack options which have two adult and two children toothbrush options. As a mum of two young boys (aged 3 and 1), I will need to purchase 4 single toothbrushes or a family pack and two children toothbrushes which is not ideal. This is my only suggestion given to them as a next steps option for the company.

I am thoroughly impressed with my bamboo toothbrush and cannot recommend F.E.T.E highly enough as the company to go to in order to begin your journey with using a bamboo toothbrush. They currently have a sale on where brushes have been reduced – this includes family packs – so if you are looking to make the change, now is the best time! Head to F.E.T.E for a look at their product range and to find out more