Got Wood, an Australian company, encourages their customers to ‘Make the Swap’ and throw away their plastic toothbrushes in favor of their naturally raw Mao Bamboo (Panda Friendly) biodegradable versions. Like so many other gorgeous vegan, sustainable and eco conscious brands I have found and devoted my custom to, I discovered Got Wood via their Instagram page. At first glance I just thought it looked pretty neat to have a wooden toothbrush sitting next to the bathroom sink but a quick read through of the companies goals and ethics on their website soon convinced me to go ahead and ‘Make the Swap’ for ethical as well as cosmetic reasons. I haven’t touched a plastic toothbrush since (and never will!).
They are a rather cool little company that offers a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to the traditional plastic-handled toothbrushes that have saturated the market for decades and contribute to our problem of overflowing landfills. Every year over a billion non-biodegradable plastic toothbrushes are thrown away. Furthermore, waste that is not recycled is lifted by rainwater and carried into our drainage which leads to our rivers and seas, which in turn causes serious threat to our wildlife, marine life and human health and safety. Besides harming animals and adding to the country-sized floating garbage patches that pollute our oceans, the plastic brush handles take over a thousand years to degrade – which is why bamboo is such a wonderful solution!
By offering the oral hygiene market a toothbrush that is made from 100% biodegradable materials, Got Wood gives us as consumers an easy and cost-effective way to combat these environmental issues by taking care of ourselves naturally; brushing with Nature and giving back to our Mother Earth.
The body of each toothbrush is made using 100% biodegradable bamboo which can be tossed onto the compost once you are ready to move on to your next bamboo brush (just remember to shave off the nylon bristles first!) Bamboo is a fast growing, environmentally sustainable timber that regenerates itself naturally with minimal rain and without the need for harmful pesticides. The energy that goes into making a bamboo toothbrush is a mere fraction of that which is required to produce the plastic alternative. Even the packaging of their toothbrushes is made from non-toxic, biodegradable materials and printed with environmentally-friendly soy bean ink. These guys truly thought of everything!
I don’t think the importance of supporting companies that support our planet can ever be stressed enough. Our environment is so devastatingly precious. We need to do everything that we can to ensure that it lasts for as long as it can. Packing landfills full of non-biodegradable materials only creates more pollution in our already compromised air, water and soil. Tackling this issue is an uphill battle (to say the least) but even the smallest step in the right direction is an improvement and if everyone made one small lifestyle change, such as switching to a bamboo toothbrush, the collective impact could be huge for all of us. Companies who place an emphasis on preserving the capability of the environment to support human life deserve not only our dollar but perhaps a little email of encouragement and support for their cause. In fact I’m going to put that on my list of things to do today!
Find them on Instagram, Facebook and their website! Yes, they ship internationally!
[All images from Got Wood’s instagram account. See their account for individual photo credits]
