Bamboo Toothbrush - Change the world - Eco Friendly
Wooden toothbrush - Biodegradable packaging - Bamboo
The simple idea of a bamboo toothbrush that’s changing the world, one simple eco friendly change at a time.
The year 2019 will – most of us hope – go down as a tipping point when we started to make a difference to our planet and the oceans. There is, of course, the influence of Greta Thunberg at a global level, but there are efforts going on in communities around the world and, in the small Hertfordshire town of Hitchin, there’s @BambuuBrush.
Formed in early 2019, @BambuuBrush set itself a target of selling one million of their bamboo toothbrushes by the end of the year. In fact, they not only managed to hit their target three months early, they were also recognised as Hertfordshire New Business of the Year.
Founders Tommie Eaton and Rebecca Dudbridge were stunned by their success, but they’re not stopping there. Before December, they’d set three challenging targets and shared them all over social media.
The @BambuuBrush targets are:
- #Tokyo2020
- #21millionby21
- Get @BambuuBrush in space - #BambuuBrushandBeyond
Rebecca said: “It’s incredible that we launched two months into 2019 and already our bamboo toothbrushes have been sold in over 44 countries. We’re working with travel specialists, charities, global organisations, local enterprises, hotel chains and yoga retreats. Thousands of Virgin Atlantic customers now receive our brushes as part of their sustainability amenity kits.”
It’s Rebecca and Tommie’s infectious enthusiasm which has bred this success – and caused them to be presented with the New Business Award at the 2019 Hertfordshire Business Awards. “That was a great win after all the hard work we’ve put in to building up the business,” said Tommie. “We worked with Selfridges and their Project Ocean Initiative to deliver one of our Primary School Plastic Pollution workshops in-store in September. Alongside that, we support Humanitas, a charity that works with some of the world's most vulnerable children and adults. We are determined to raise awareness of pollution and how we can all play our part in stopping it.”
Tommie’s background lies in education before he began travelling the world. He joined with co-Founder Rebecca while they explored the world, before returning to the UK to harness their social media and entrepreneurial skills.
Working as they travelled allowed them to see the beauty of the world, encounter some special experiences with wildlife, the marine life, and the people who live and work close to the oceans. They have also seen first-hand the increasing damage plastic is having on our planet, in our oceans and to ourselves as humans. Rebecca explained: “As we explored over seven or eight years, we began to see a dramatic difference in the quality of the world’s beaches and noticed a steep increase in the amount of plastic ending up on coastlines in the last 18 months.
“In January 2018, we had a life-changing experience on Panagsama Beach, Cebu, Philippines. This is one of the only places in the world where you can swim with millions upon millions of sardines. The beach is also famous for its high levels of jellyfish and sea turtles. We sent up our drone and were blown away that on the screen, there were two sea turtles swimming together. We began recording the footage and moments later a number of pieces of plastic appeared into the frame and one of the sea turtles attempted to bite the plastic bag, presumably thinking it was a jellyfish.
“That was the moment we both realised that mankind is destroying the beauty of Mother Nature herself. We then discovered three terrifying facts: firstly, studies show that by 2050 there will be more pieces of plastic in our oceans than the total number of marine and sea life put together; secondly, micro plastics are already in our food chain; and finally, plastics have been proven to contribute to cardiovascular diseases and hormonal changes.”
The result of that moment on a beach and the resulting research was @BambuuBrush, which sold its first bamboo toothbrush in February 2019. The handles are 100% biodegradable, made from the highest quality bamboo and a natural antimicrobial. The bristles are made from Nylon-6, a substance proven to be more biodegradable than the nylon-4 used in the majority of toothbrushes. The bristles are infused with activated charcoal, which has long been known as one of nature’s best absorbing and cleaning agents and had been proven to whiten your beautiful teeth. Activated charcoal is a natural antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral agent that detoxifies and deodorises your mouth, balancing PH levels while absorbing odour. All the @BambuuBrush packaging is made from 100% natural Kraft paper, which usually contains 10-20% of recycled paper, made without chemicals and unbleached.
As well as the three targets for 2020 and 2021, there are long-term goals for Tommie and Rebecca. Tommie said: “The ultimate end goal is to set up recycling centres in South East Asia and other developing countries around the world. Through our experiences and work, we have seen that these regions been hit very hard with the plastic pollution due to the currents that circulate the planet. Also, these lower socio-economic countries often have to pick up the pieces from the wealthier countries, even when those lower socio-economic countries do not have the correct waste management systems in place. We want to use the pollution problem to help solve poverty.”
Another ambitious project is #PlasticPays – a system where collected plastic can be used as a form of payment for a child’s education. “There are 6.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic in the world as waste and recycled plastic is bought at around £30-£70 per tonne, explained Rebecca. “The average cost of a child’s education in developing countries is £7 per month. The system we are working to create will allow parents in developing countries to collect plastic to help fund their child’s education.”
As 2020 begins, @BambuuBrush now has more than 6,000 followers on Instagram and regularly reaches more than 2,000 people on Twitter and Facebook. It’s clear that Tommie and Rebecca are part of a remarkable future – and a vision for our future. Their mission is to use the power of social media in a positive way to educate on the impact plastic pollution has on our planet. They will continue to inspire and create change, building a movement that empowers people to work together to continue to take simple actions and simple changes towards a greener, more plastic free future.
Make sure you get your bamboo toothbrush from @BambuuBrush website and join their online movement of making one simple change away from plastic.