This is why everyone is switching to biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes, and here’s a brand that’s definitely worth supporting
Feeling guilty when you pick up your plastic toothbrush each morning? Make the swap to Bambooth, a toothbrush with a 100% biodegradable handle and BPA-free nylon bristles.
Its creators, Niamh McGill and Joe Finnegan, are originally from Meath and now live in the UK. Seeing the impact of plastic pollution on the environment, they decided to try to make a change.
The bamboo used is panda-friendly moso bamboo, which is a renewable natural material.
Niamh, who is a vet and conservationist, felt inspired to make a difference when she was travelling in China.
“I came across a bamboo toothbrush in a novelty shop which I immediately recognised as a potential solution to the 3.5 billion manual plastic toothbrushes sold annually,” she says. “Each plastic toothbrush takes a minimum of 450 years to biodegrade with the vast majority ending up in our oceans and landfill.”
Donate to the cause
Bambooth donates 10c for every bambooth brush to four different conservation efforts aimed at habitat protection. The brushes are available in four different colours, each representing the charity it supports.
- Forest Green — Jane Goodall Institute and helps local people to take charge of the conservation of their communities.
- Sea Blue — Plastic Oceans UK, which aims to stop plastic reaching the oceans within a generation.
- Coral Pink — Coral Reef Alliance, which is passionate about improving coral reef health and resilience.
- Aqua Marine — The Marine Conservation Society, which aims to ensure the seas are healthy and pollution free.
Why is it worth opting for BPA-free nylon?
You’ve probably seen BPA-free plastic water bottles in shops. BPA, or bisphenol A,is a chemical found in many hard plastics that we use every day. Higher doses have been linked to infertility and other health problems.
Need another reason to make the swap? Unlike the conventional toothbrush you pick up in your local supermarket, Bambooth has zero plastic packaging and comes in a handy travel tube. Here are some other ways to cut down on waste plastics in your beauty routine.
Still not convinced? This is why we need to kick plastic toothbrushes out of our daily routine:
Every toothbrush you have ever used still exists. Most of us will replace around 300 toothbrushes in our lifetime. This is a modern problem. Before plastic toothbrushes were created in the 1930s, toothbrushes were made from natural materials like bone and horsehair. Now nylon bristles and plastic handles are the norm, and they’re going nowhere — except showing up as litter on beaches and filling our landfills.
The alternative? Going back to basics with a biodegradable toothbrush.
You can find Bambooth at:
- Reuzi, Foxrock, Dublin
- Leafling Mercantile, Ballinspittle, Cork
- The Olive Branch, Clonakilty, Cork
- Twig Refill, Clonakilty, Cork
- Cork Flower Studio, Cork
- Centra, Urlingford, Kilkenny
- The Green Door Pantry, The Green Door Market, Old Naas Road, Dublin
Find out more at bambooth.com.
