The Hubs and I were at Whole Foods last weekend and for some reason that place always brings out my inner tree hugger. I'm not at all hard core about it, but I have been consciously trying to do little things to help the planet. I've been fairly good at ditching plastic bags, buying organic fruit, veggies and meat whenever available, and using my Kleen Kanteen instead of plastic water bottles.
Anyways, because I've been tackling the "floss every day" goal, I recently ran out of all of those little trial size flosses that you get from the dentist. (It's amazing how much floss you go through when you actually use it!) So I decided to see what types of floss Whole Foods had to offer - maybe something where both teh floss and the container it comes in is biodegradable.
Although there weren't many to choose from, I figured I would just try one.
And the winner was....
This floss was triple sealed in a paper box that can be recycled. The floss itself was 100% vegan waxed (which has to be better for the environment than the traditional stuff), but I'm not sure that it is biodegradable. I think it would have been advertised all over the box if it was.
As far as how it works...it left lots to be desired... The first couple of days it seemed like it was working fine, but lately it has been getting stuck between my teeth. This especially sucks because I get bits of floss stuck in my teeth requiring me to use another piece of floss to get the first piece out. It is also very uncomfortable to have to slide a piece of floss out of your teeth. Totally cringe worthy and not the "Gentle Floss" advertised!
I think once the remaining 90 feet are gone, I'll have to go back to good ol' Crest Glide until I find something else that is planet friendly and works a little better.
Has anyone else ever thought of buying "green" dental floss? And if so do you any brand recommendations?
P.S. - For more tips on how doing just small things can make a big difference in creating a better planet, check out my friend Teresa's new blog, Slightly Sustainable.
Wow thanks for the link Jen that is awesome. One thing about "going green" is then figuring out what matters, its really been hard for me. Like you mentioned is biodegradable most important? Or vegan wax? Or would be buying the most local product be the best? I think just asking these questions is a great start. I haven't done much research into the floss although I am a Whole Foods junkie and do think generally buying things from there are right away more environmentally conscious because they work to purchase more environmentally friendly products. Right now I am using a Tom's brand floss and it is working great. I choose no flavor which I think helps because I think they have to do weird things to make "natural flavors". But again that's just a hunch and not based on really any research. Happy flossing!
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