Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Toothbrush, Toothbrush rolley polley Toothbrush

I am so excited!! I have found a new toothbrush, no wait, THE toothbrush! WOOP! No really. This post is about toothbrushes. 

Recently, after reading a little bitty about what really happens to our plastic when we recycle, I started feeling less phenomenally awesome about myself for simply recycling and wanting to "up" the green-o-meter. Continuing to buy "virgin" plastic and recycling it just isn't gonna cut it anymore.

I haven't really felt a HUGE gap in "eco" availability (except produce) since our move from BC to Halifax, in fact recycling and composting is much easier here. One of the few things I have been missing is my "eco" toothbrush I had in BC which I LOVED. 

As a complete off shoot- careful about those Canadian 
counterfeit toothbrushes out there!! LOL, crazy Canadians counterfeiting toothbrushes! So evil...

First- who cares about toothbrushes really? I mean, how much waste could using a small itty bitty toothbrush bring? Well- since most of us want clean sparkly teeth, a toothbrush is something close to an essential for almost all North Americans. Factor in that dentists recommend we buy new brushes every three months, that's 4 toothbrushes a year for each person. Ok, so I confess to using my toothbrush past what's sanitary... but that has more to do with lazyness (i.e. Divacup) than the environment. Regular toothbrushes are made with virgin plastic and nylon bristles and are not recycling bin worthy. Stats are kinda wonky out there regarding exact amount- but a couple places quote 50 million TONS of toothbrushes are thrown into the landfill each year by Americans. Really, with their population that's not a surprising number.

Cutting out a toothbrush just isn't really an option for me, but all the "eco" friendly toothbrushes I have seen around Halifax/Yarmouth area just haven't cut it- the bristles look hard, the brush shape looks wonky- I have receding gums, I need to be careful!

Then... one fateful day at Pete's Frootique (yes, non-Haligonians out there, Halifax has a really cool store called Pete's Frootique; Pete is an actual person and yes, he sells fruits), my fiancé and I ventured into the "health" section. I spend a lot of time ready to sift and disregard most products there (greenwashing abounds at Pete's), but there, sitting so quietly were PRESERVE TOOTHBRUSHES!!! YAY!!!! I actually jumped up and down, said "Yay!!!!" and flapped my hands in excitement. The fiancé laughed for a minute than shushed me. However, as soon as I saw the toothbrushes I also 
noticed... GASP... THE RAZORS!!!!! OMG. I almost peed my pants. I had no IDEA they also sold razors!!!!

Why I love Preserve:
Their toothbrushes are made from recycled, post-consumer plastic.
Packaging includes a case that is also made from recycled plastic and can be used as a carrying case (it has breather holes at the top) AND be used to:
Mail your toothbrush back to preserve- POSTAGE PAID. sigh. I love postage paid.
The plastic is BPA free and their products are not tested on animals.
They have information on their site on their recycling process and have calculated how the carbon emissions used to ship toothbrushes back to the company are less than the environmental impact of sending it to the landfill.
The paper info is also made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Also- they come in pretty colours (I like shiny things..)
Their curved handle is ergonomical for improved reach
The bristles (although virgin nylon- good for health, not so great for "greenness") come in extra soft- which one of my dentists complained should be the ONLY option available.

I bought one- and it is beautifully purple. The handle takes a few days to get used to, but what do ya know- the curved handle DOES make it easier to reach! YAY less carpal tunnel!

So- Pete's Frootique sells them, the fiancé thinks for around 4$, or one from the site for 2.79$ US. 

So I wrote so much about the toothbrush, that really I don't have a lot of room for the razor. BUT- needless to say the plastic info is the same and it is triple razor that are easily replaced (unfortunately the blades are not eco friendly). I have briefly tried it for my armpits... and it's not really as awesome as my old venus razor... but the Earth is worth it.

Blessings!

3 comments:

  1. I'm really enjoying your blog - who knew that there was so much to know about toothbrushes?! Thanks so much for being in touch and for your comments. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.

    -Lee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is it postage paid for Canadians too? I know it's an American company, so I am wondering if we'd have to pay extra to ship it when we're done with it.
    P.S. Great blog! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Tal! Thanks :)
    Hey wow, I really had to search for that to make sure and I was just about to type- it looks that way! until I actually downloaded the postage- zoomed in and read the fine print... Nope, only good for the USA. blegh. What I'll probably do is ship a bunch at once (under 13 ounces) to lessen cost and carbon footprint :)

    ReplyDelete

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