Please read the following post for important information on how I’ve chosen my recommendations:
TLDR: We know that plastic “normal” floss isn’t good for your health. More sustainable floss might not be good for the environment.
Why you should care: “Dental floss is often made with PFAS. PTFE, commonly known as Teflon, is one of many PFAS chemicals and is widely used in floss. PFAS are associated with numerous health effects, such as impairing the immune system, cancer, fertility concerns, reproductive and developmental impacts, and kidney disease. Some PFAS are toxic at low levels and are known to build up in the body. PFAS in dental floss could be particularly concerning, considering you put it directly in your mouth and flossing can cause bleeding gums, providing direct access to the bloodstream.” https://www.consumerreports.org/toxic-chemicals-substances/dental-floss-without-pfas-and-other-harmful-chemicals-a9722832754/
What you should buy: https://www.shopetee.com/pages/plastic-free-floss
Again, I’m recommending Etee. They’re based in Canada so they’re not too far away. They donate to good causes. They don’t do plastic. They don’t test on animals, and use safe materials. They care about their workers and supply chain. Their floss works. They address a lot of my questions about sustainability here: https://www.shopetee.com/blogs/sustainability/silk-or-no-silk-lets-talk-about-it
Floss is a fascinating topic. It’s one of those dental hygiene issues where the big health/safety, sustainability and adoption come into play quite separately.
We know that plastic floss isn’t good for your health. It would be great if there was silicone floss that lasted for years so we could just reuse. One company called “simplyfloss” has this option, but the silicone floss doesn’t last years. https://simplyfloss.com/ So is it more eco-friendly?
We can also look at floss made of silk. I read a paper stating that silk floss isn’t practical for scalability reasons. https://www.openlca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Report_Dental_Floss_LCA.pdf
There’s also floss made of corn. Some reviewers said it tends to break easily. Others said it was great but pretty expensive. It claims to be compostable, but most of the time that really means it’s “compostable in an industrial lab” so make sure to ask the company for that information before buying. https://www.thereducereport.com/home/fresh-labs-corn-floss-2020-review-vegan-refillable-plastic-free-floss
There are many options out there that say their floss is recyclable. That may be true, but odds are, your local recycling station won’t actually recycle it. Remember, only about 9% of plastic is actually recycled in the U.S. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
Additional Resources: https://greencoast.org/best-eco-friendly-floss/https://sustainablereview.com/reusable-floss-options-for-eco-conscious-oral-hygiene/
Photo Credit: Oana Christina