Why Plastic is the problem?

Let’s consider some of the very basic domestic plastic waste (not even starting with the industrial waste) such as straws that we effortlessly use and throw, bottles, coffee cups, etc., especially the toothbrush that we change every three months. We can easily estimate the Plastic to be as much as 3.3 metric tonnes just in India. This roughly translates into 9,200 tonnes a day (TPD). The further unfoldings are even more disrupting than the numbers themselves. 

• Plastic pollution can afflict land, waterways and oceans. It is estimated that 1.1 to 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean from coastal communities each year.
• Some researchers suggest that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight.
• Living organisms, mainly marine animals, can be harmed either by mechanical effects, such as entanglement in plastic objects, problems related to ingestion of plastic waste or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that interfere with their physiology. 
• Degraded plastic waste can directly affect humans through direct consumption (i.e., tap water), indirect consumption (by eating animals), and disruption of various hormonal mechanisms.

Why can Bamboo be an effective alternative?

When choosing an eco-friendly material for daily use items, bamboo ticks all the boxes. 

• Bamboo plants grow quickly, need little care and may thrive without fertilizers or pesticides. Bamboo is also naturally pest resistant, meaning it doesn’t require any pesticides to grow.
• When used in its raw form, Bamboo has a considerably smaller ecological footprint than Plastic because it is biodegradable. 
• Bamboo sequesters carbon from the atmosphere into soil and biomass very quickly. This makes the plant an essential part of our journey towards reversing climate change.
• Suppose you want to go with something aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly. What could be better than a bamboo product’s subtle and natural appearance that fits just fine with your eco-minded and minimalistic lifestyle!

How about starting with a toothbrush?

Bamboo toothbrushes may seem like a new eco-friendly item. Still, they are actually one of the oldest types of toothbrushes, as the earliest bristle toothbrushes were invented in China in the 15th century and featured boar hair bristles and bamboo handles.

Most products today are made without consideration of their end-of-life. They have nowhere to go to be recycled, reused, or composted, so they are thrown out after their time is up. But, by choosing natural materials for our products, such as Bamboo for our toothbrushes, we can help create a less wasteful system. The majority of the bamboo toothbrush is completely biodegradable, making it a logical choice for anyone wanting to move towards a low-waste home and personal-care routine.

Ecocradle’s Bamboo Toothbrush for your family!

If you are finding bamboo toothbrushes for your family, well, look no further. Our Bamboo toothbrush comes with 100% plastic-free packaging to ensure that it is entirely biodegradable. In addition, the toothbrush comes with soft, BPA-free bristles, which is better for oral hygiene. These bristles are made from a bio-based nylon material produced 100% from castor seeds, mainly grown in India, China and Pakistan. The bristles and the packaging makes our Bamboo Toothbrush completely biodegradable and makes it a sustainable choice for your oral hygiene.

The toothbrush handle is ergonomically designed with easy-to-grip quality and is made entirely from organically grown Bamboo. For the family pack of four, every toothbrush comes with a unique identifier as signs of four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air, on the handles.

Caring and Disposing of the Toothbrush

Our Bamboo toothbrush will last just as long as your conventional toothbrush. To keep it as good as new, just like any other toothbrush, all you need to do is to keep it in an open and dry area after use. Every part of the toothbrush is disposable. You can also reuse the handle by clipping off the bristles and use it as a garden marker or as any other canvas for your creativity. After removing the bristles, the handle is entirely decomposable. The bristles are biobased but not biodegradable. However, they will eventually return to the soil when recycled in any local recycling facility. 

Does more Bamboo for day-to-day products lead to deforestation?

That is not the case. Bamboo is a rapidly renewable and self-regenerating plant. In fact, Bamboo can grow over three feet (or one meter) per day. That’s 1,000 times as fast as oak, and other hardwood trees grow. Because of its fast growth rate (one of the fastest in the world, actually), Bamboo can be harvested in 3 to 5 years, compared to trees that may take 10 to 30 years or more before they can be harvested.

But what’s fascinating about Bamboo is that it does not die when harvested. This means that the bamboo plant will actually grow a new shoot from its existing root system after harvesting and thus making it less harmful in terms of deforestation. 

With too many options available, it indeed becomes a little difficult to understand what will be really helpful and ecological as a choice, but in the case of choosing toothbrushes, plastic is clearly not a good choice.  Even while choosing a bamboo toothbrush, it is important to take every part into consideration, most importantly, its decomposability. There could be some differences in the price ranges of bamboo toothbrushes, but it is certainly a better investment for the long run with considerable advantages both economically and ecologically.