4.21.2008

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Our bioceta toothbrush is made with natural bristles and biodegradable cellulose acetate, a natural substance extracted from cotton. Bioceta degradation is compared to that of an oak leaf.

Awesome. So, what you are telling me is that this amazing toothbrush decomposes in less than 6 months, so by purchasing this product, I am helping the environment. Regular toothbrushes can take decades to decompose and 50 million lbs. are thrown away every single year. I was sooooo excited to order this toothbrush after reading about it in this month's SELF magazine.

I went home today for lunch to find a package at my doorstep. Here's the thing:
1. The package was about 12x5x5…..for a TOOTHBRUSH
2. It was stuffed with paper
3. The toothbrush came in a PLASTIC package that does not decompose as fast as a oak leaf, not even close.

The only thing that could have made this worse is if the package was stuffed with styrofoam peanuts!

So, I decided to write to Acca Kappa (Yes, I was bored) to see if I was hopefully mistaken.

Acca Kappa,
I was just wondering if your plastic packaging for your environmentally friendly toothbrush is also as biodegradable as the toothbrush itself.
Thanks,
Lauren
______________________________
Hi Lauren, The case is not as biodegradable as Bioceta, but we are in the process of changing the toothbrush packaging to a recycled paper.
Hope this helps!
Russell
_________________________________________
So, what you are saying is I may as well have bought a regular toothbrush without the excess packaging....no difference.
L

I have not heard back from them yet.

6 comments:

Mimi said...

HA!

Bonnie said...

HAHAHAHA! Lovesit!

I saw that in SELF this month. Funny you mention that magazine...when you and I were just talking about "Green" ad nauseum, I was specifically thinking about SELF and how I'm growing increasingly annoyed with all their green suggestions.

I switched my monthly bills over to electronic versions, I take public transportation 24/7/365, and I bring my own bags to grocery stores. That's plenty, thank you very much, Al Gore!

Anonymous said...

ohmygosh...that is...tragic. :(

Mimi said...

OOOHHH - I love the grocery bags. I am going to get some and I am passing the link onto my sister. I like the retro and the monochromatic ones.
Thanks for sharing!! :)

Anonymous said...

that toothbrush stuff is funny!
how dumb are they? did they think people (who are buying their products for a reason) wouldnt notice that?

Patti said...

Way to call them out. They really don't care, its all about money.