Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to live greener is to minimize your water use.
You don’t have to buy or build your own rain barrel to save water, you can just turn your water off while you’re brushing your teeth.
But what about that toothbrush?
I bet it’s plastic isn’t it?
Did you know that your average toothbrush is NOT recyclable?
If you changed your toothbrush every 3 months like dentists recommend, how many MILLIONS of toothbrushes would end up in landfills???
Enter the answer to all our toothbrush problems: The Source toothbrush from Radius Toothbrush.
I first learned about the Source eco-friendly toothbrush from my green blog bud Shea Gunther of Mother Nature Network (MNN).
Shea’s got an “in” with the good people at Radius and was able to get them to send me one of their Source toothbrushes to try out and review here on The Fun Times Guide to Living Green.
What Makes This Toothbrush So Green?
- 93% recycled material – 47% renewable resource
- Replaceable heads + wooden handle = only 7% of toothbrush wasted
- Handle is molded from recycled wood bio-plastic, recycled dollar bills from the US Mint, or recycled flax from linen production
- New lightweight unbreakable replacement heads made from surgical-grade nylon
- Handle lasts forever
- Replaceable heads save 91% of the material but last just as long as ordinary toothbrushes
- Manufactured on electric molding machines that save 75% of the total energy used in making ordinary toothbrushes
- Toothbrush packaging is made from recycled soda bottles
Sounds Great, But Is It Any Good?
It’s AWESOME!
I had been using the Source toothbrush for about a week when I asked my wife, “Hey babe, am I seeing things or do my teeth look whiter?”
She replied, “Oh my gosh! I thought I noticed that yesterday too!”
The ergonomic, eco-friendly, reusable handle feels very nice in my hands (which are gigantic — like a bear’s paws or something crazy big like that).
The surface area of the replaceable heads is greater than any toothbrush I’ve ever used.
The bristles are quite soft, but sturdy and this is the first time I truly felt like a toothbrush massaged my gum line adequately (despite many disposable toothbrushes’ claims to do so).
I also like the big picture, anti-greenwashing thinking behind the Source toothbrush. Instead of having you ship your toothbrush back to the company for recycling (like Recycline does with toothbrushes), Radius says:
“Shipping it back across the country for recycling consumes more resources than making a new handle. Our new toothbrushes minimize consumption by using lightweight replaceable heads that save 91% of the material wasted in ordinary monolithic toothbrush design.”
Now that’s bright thinking right there!
You can buy a Source toothbrush for about $8. After that, you can get a pack of replacement heads for about $6.
That works out to be way cheaper than buying a new toothbrush every 3 months.
So what are you waiting for?
Are you going to buy a Source toothbrush from Radius? Do you already use one? If so, how do you like it?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
