Tom's of Maine packages its natural toothpaste in recyclable aluminum tubes. If they aren't recycled in your area, you can even mail them back to the company. I have started using their Whole Care toothpaste and thus far like it, although I hadn't realized how much I took the sugary taste of Crest for granted after all these years. Ironic in a toothpaste, no?
The Preserve company produces toothbrushes out of recycled number five plastics (the ones in yogurt containers) and will take them back when you've used them up. They're also the ones who run the number five recycling program at Whole Foods.
Beth Terry discusses other plastic-free options here. One of the things I'm not planning on changing unless I have a lot of evidence it's equally effective is my mouthwash, since I already have visions of being the only person of my generation with dentures. You spend your youth thinking that cavities are the sole enemy, and so many of us have been cavity-free our whole lives what with school-sponsored flouride and whatnot, and then boom, nascent gum disease. Beth's dentist did recommend her mouthwash, but I have to say that when I hear 'herbs' in the context of medicine I am generally not impressed.
These types of posts are inspired by the Tiny Choices blog and by Diane MacEachern's One In A Million campaign, which encourages consumers to switch $1000 of their household spending to green products. Actually, it encourages *women* to switch their spending, on the assumption that it's women who are in charge of the budget for things like grocery shopping and cleaning supplies. While this is no doubt true in many households, I don't think it's something we necessarily need to encourage by treating it as the standard. It certainly wasn't in my house growing up, and that's only going to become more true as people my age who expect a more equitable distribution of housework form families.
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