After plastic straws, this entrepreneur wants plastic toothbrushes to disappear

[oberliner]

People are turning against plastic straws. Christina Ramirez wants them to think about another piece of plastic they use every day -- the toothbrush.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/21/news/economy/bamboo-toothbrush-plastic-alternative/index.html

[True Dough]

1. Pine needles or cactus will do the job too

No need for a plastic toothbrush!

[silverweb]

2. The bamboo toothbrushes are great.

I bought a set of 4 from Amazon a couple of months ago and like them very much. Of course, prices for plastic substitutes need to come down some, but I think they will, and then more people will buy them. Meanwhile, whenever there's a reasonable alternative to plastic that doesn't have an outrageous price tag, take it!

[crazycatlady]

3. I wonder what replacements for electric/battery toothbrushes will be

I'm interested in this, however I use a battery powered toothbrush (to be fair I only change the heads, not the entire apparatus).

[oberliner]

4. Check this out

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goodwell/be-the-first-battery-free-powered-toothbrush/description

[crazycatlady]

5. When the price goes down

The ones I use are the $12.99 battery operated ones.

I like these sustainable alternatives, but they need to be priced for people who aren't the Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) type crowd. Rich hipsters can afford this stuff but the masses can't.

[oberliner]

6. Environmentally sustainable products are going to be more expensive than cheap plastic ones

If people aren't willing (or able) to pay more, things aren't really going to change.

It's sort of why Walmart is so successful with clothing made in sweatshops in Bangladesh.

[crazycatlady]

7. Unfortunately more expensive products are not in the budget now

I do have other sustainable products such as metal straws, reusable water bottles, hot drink tumblers, reusable shopping bags (which are priced for the masses as you can buy branded ones for $1 at most grocery stores. Many are also given away for free at events).

IMO plastic bags should be the next battle. An affordable replacement product already exists.

If sustainability is limited (and priced accordingly) to the people who wear Gucci than Walmart, then it will be something of, by, and for the affluent. I already see this with organic/sustainable food. A (non organic) rotisserie chicken at Wegman's is $4.99. At a local health food store, an organic rotisserie chicken is $12.99. Organic eggs (Wegman's) are twice the price of non organic eggs.