The Bamboo Boom: What is the Deal About Bamboo Toothbrushes?
But first, what is Bamboo?
Bamboo is a miracle material, it is non-toxic, recyclable, cruelty-free, vegan, has the world record for being the fastest growing plant and it is 100% natural so it is the perfect source material for the toothbrush, an ideal alternative to plastic brushes. Bamboo has a much smaller ecological footprint than plastic because bamboo is a plant that can grow and regrow so it is a renewable source and if it is grown naturally, it does need much pesticides and fertilizer.
Biolon™, a 100% plant-based, and renewable polymer
How bamboo can help the environment?
What better way to reduce your environmental impact than by choosing an Eco-friendly toothbrush? The handle of a toothbrush can be made of bamboo with minimal electronics and machinery so it takes a lot less energy to manufacture than plastic brushes.
Imagine using a toothbrush that can be dumped in the landfill and remove tons of toxic components from the environment?. However, one problem still remains, even though bamboo can replace plastic in the manufacturing of toothbrushes, only the handle can be replaced by this wonderful material. it is important to know that toothbrush bristles are still made from synthetic nylon, a polymer that can take years to break down, nylon is made and processed from carbon-based chemicals like coal and petroleum that are very harmful to the environment. Nylon is not biodegradable and will pollute the landfill for hundreds of years. No to mention the amount of energy needed to produce it. To make things worse, one of the byproducts of nylon manufacturing is nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 200 times more harmful for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide so what can we do to make a more Eco-friendly toothbrush 100% petroleum-free?
The good news is that now we can make 100% petroleum-free bristles. By extracting castor oil seeds, natural plastic can be created with the same properties as real nylon so there is no need to make toothbrush bristles with petroleum base components anymore. The bad news is that there are a lot of toothbrushes companies out there claiming they make their toothbrushes 100% biodegradable and this is false information because they still use petroleum-based bristles. Always make sure bristles are made from materials like Biolon™ which is a 100% plant-based polymer. It is important to mention that even plant-based polymers are not 100% biodegradable or compostable but at least they are made from renewable natural sources which do not affect or destroy the environment as petroleum base polymers.
We will be making bamboo toothbrushes soon, we will be using the strongest bamboo, "Phyllostachys edulis" commonly known as Moso bamboo, Toothbrush handles made from this type of bamboo completely eliminates the need for plastic and with bristles made from our 100% plant-based polymer BIOLON™, there is not a reason to buy plastic toothbrushes any more so let's remove plastic waste from our planet and make a cleaner place for the next generations to come.
Photo by Castorly Stock from Pexels
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels