Why should you make the switch to eco-friendly silk floss?
The bathroom is probably one of the least eco-friendly rooms in your house. Skincare creams, mini travel toiletries and bottles of shower gel – sound familiar? The plastic adds up so easily and floss is no exception.
Dentists advise flossing every day to maintain good hygiene and you may be thinking that the strands are so small, how bad can it be? But being such a small piece of litter means it often gets lost in the disposal process and ends up in the ocean, causing serious health issues for marine life. And even if it finds its way to landfill instead, being made from plastic means it won’t ever fully biodegrade.
I recently swapped to biodegradable silk floss in a bid to align my health with eco-living. Now I can take care of my teeth every day without worrying about how I am harming the planet in the process.
What is silk floss?
Our Non Plastic Beach Natural Silk Dental Floss is a fully biodegradable and compostable alternative to traditional plastic floss. Typically, silk comes from the silkworm. But the silken cocoon is actually what is needed to make silk. As it’s a completely natural material it can completely break down too.
It comes in a reusable glass bottle and fully recyclable packaging while the 30-metre floss itself is coated in minty candelilla wax which is entirely plant-based.
What makes silk dental floss sustainable?
Swapping to biodegradable silk floss will drastically reduce your impact on the planet and threat to marine life. As it’s 100% natural it’s designed to biodegrade completely. But it’s also just as strong and effective for teeth hygiene as traditional floss, so there’s no need to compromise!
Although it’s biodegradable you should still refrain from flushing it down the toilet as it can still get tangled and wrapped up in marine life – which completely diminishes the whole point of using eco-friendly floss.
Better yet, the packaging is all recyclable too. The cardboard box is fully recyclable, the glass bottle can be reused and the reel that the floss comes on is made from corn-starch which is also compostable – it’s a triple win! All you need to do is buy the floss reel refills and pop them in the reusable glass bottle dispenser.
Why choose silk dental floss over other non-sustainable alternatives?
Traditional floss is one of the most plasticky products in your bathroom. It’s made from nylon which is a type of plastic derived from crude oil (alarm bells already!). It’s then put through a rigorous chemical process to create the stretchy strong fibres of nylon. This intense process uses huge amounts of water to cool the fibres, which can result in contamination and pollution, and it immense amounts of energy are used in the production cycle. And it gets worse – the process creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
We know that if you were to flush traditional floss down the toilet or put it in the bin, it will likely find its way to the ocean or get entangled in a bird’s stomach. And the large pieces of floss will simply break into smaller pieces and continue onto the next victim, and so on.
Floss also needs some coating to help glide between teeth easily. Some flosses use Teflon or similar chemicals like perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which are possibly linked to harmful health conditions. PFAS are used in many things from cookware to paint, so it definitely raises questions as to whether we should be putting it in our mouth.
The Non Plastic Silk Dental Floss uses candelilla wax instead which is a natural vegetable wax. It’s entirely plant-based and doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals so you can floss without worrying about the two temples in your life – your body and the planet.
Let’s not forget the packaging either, which is just as important. Traditional floss is packaged in a container made from polypropylene, an extremely durable plastic that cannot entirely biodegrade. It takes roughly 30 years to partially degrade, which is far better than some plastics, but it still releases harmful toxins in the process.
The Non Plastic Silk Dental Floss costs £4 compared to Tesco’s Oral-B floss that costs £2. However, silk dental floss clearly has immense benefits for your health and the planet so it’s well worth the investment.
Why choose silk dental floss over other sustainable alternatives?
There are other sustainable alternatives such as bamboo dental floss which has tons of environmental benefits. For instance, it’s fast-growing, regenerative, water-efficient, kinder to soil and it absorbs more carbon dioxide than many trees.
But despite its benefits, when it comes to floss it’s not quite strong enough. That’s why many bamboo dental floss alternatives also contain plastic to strengthen the strand, compared to silk dental floss which is inherently strong enough in itself.
The last thread
National Geographic estimates that without significant change, there will be 99 million tons of plastic in the environment by 2030. That’s less than ten years away so it’s time to make those small but mighty swaps in our daily routines.
Let’s start with swapping to Non Plastic Beach Natural Silk Dental Floss to maintain the health of our teeth, without sacrificing the health of our planet. With our Home Club, you can turn these changes into habits even quicker, with Home Club living more sustainably doesn’t have to be a hassle. As a Home Club Member you can buy at unbeatable prices, guaranteed – a minute to join, a lifetime of impact. We’re in, are you?
