3 things to know before you brush with plastic again
You filtered the water. You swapped to glass. But the one thing you put in your mouth twice a day is probably still plastic. Here's what most people never get told, and the simplest swap in your bathroom.
Most people who care about plastic have already done the hard part.
The water filter. The glass containers. The steel bottle. Maybe the wooden cutting board.
But there's one thing almost every one of us still puts in our mouth twice a day, every day, without a second thought.
Your toothbrush.
Your toothbrush bristles are plastic
Almost every toothbrush bristle is nylon. That's plastic, made from crude oil. The same stuff they make gas out of.
When a brush is new, the bristles stand up tall and straight. Then you scrub them across your teeth, two minutes at a time, twice a day. Within a few weeks they bend and splay out. That's the part you can see.
The part you can't see is what's coming off them.
And getting a new one more often doesn't fix it. A brand new plastic brush starts wearing down the very first morning you use it. Going electric doesn't fix it either. The head is still plastic.
What plastic can bring with it
It's not just the plastic itself. Plastic can carry chemicals like BPA and phthalates.
Don't worry about the words. What matters is they're the same stuff a lot of us bought glass containers to get away from.
The plastic chemical that sent millions of people looking for "BPA-free" on their water bottles.
Used to make plastics soft and flexible. One of the first things low-tox shoppers learn to check labels for.
If you've spent years keeping plastic out of your kitchen, it's worth asking why it's still in the one thing that goes in your mouth every morning and every night.
The smart swap: high contact, zero effort
You can't avoid all plastic. Nobody can. So the swaps worth making are the ones that give you the most for the least.
- You use it every day, not once in a while
- It goes directly in your mouth
- It doesn't change your routine at all
- It costs about what you already spend
Nothing else in your bathroom checks all four boxes. Your toothbrush does. Same toothpaste. Same two minutes. Different brush.
The Earth & Ivory Horse-Hair Toothbrush
Real horse-hair bristles on a bamboo handle. Made the way people brushed their teeth long before plastic, and built to fix what people didn't like about natural brushes.
Real horse hair on a carbonized bamboo handle. No nylon, no petroleum, no BPA, no phthalates, no PFAS. Nothing plastic touches your mouth.
Soft on your gums, but packed extra dense so more bristles touch your teeth with every stroke. Gentle, and still squeaky clean.
Bristles are thermally prepped and set in a high-density weave, so you're not picking loose hairs out of your mouth.
A freestanding, sealed bamboo base keeps it upright and out of puddles, so it dries fast instead of getting gross on your counter.
The result: the plastic is out of the one thing you put in your mouth 730 times a year, without changing a single habit.
Earth & Ivory vs. other toothbrushes
| Feature | Earth & Ivory | Plastic toothbrush | Bamboo handle, nylon bristles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic-free bristles | |||
| Plastic-free handle | |||
| No nylon touching your mouth | |||
| Ultra-soft natural bristles | |||
| Stands upright to dry |
A bamboo handle helps with the landfill. But the handle never goes in your mouth. The bristles do.
Soft enough for your gums. Dense enough to actually clean.
Soft bristles usually mean a floppy, half-hearted clean. That's why we packed ours extra dense, so you get more contact with every stroke without adding stiffness.
After you brush, run your tongue across your teeth. That smooth, just-left-the-dentist feeling is the difference.
What people notice first
“If you're cutting out microplastics, you need this brush.”
“I'm absolutely obsessed with how clean my teeth feel. The horse-hair is gentle but incredibly effective.”
“I was worried about natural bristles being too harsh, but this horse-hair is incredibly soft.”
“The freestanding base is exactly what bamboo brushes have always needed. It dries perfectly.”
Ready to take the plastic out of your routine?
- 4 horse-hair toothbrushes
- Ultra-soft, dense-weave bristles
- Freestanding bamboo handles that dry fast
- 100% plastic-free, down to the bristles
- Ships to the US and Canada
This article is for general information only and isn't medical advice. Earth & Ivory toothbrushes are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Individual experiences vary. Reviews shown are from Earth & Ivory customers.