Vegan toothpaste pill aims to cut plastics in landfills
Brushing your teeth is essential to oral hygiene. But do you know what’s actually in your toothpaste? And why it's in a plastic tube? One oral–care company was founded on these questions.
Known as Bite, the company transformed toothpaste into tiny tablets that are made out of natural ingredients and packed them into a small plastic-free bottles. It has sold more than 8 million units since last August.
“I came up with this idea because I was traveling all the time for work,” said Bite founder and CEO Lindsay McCormick during an interview on FOXBusiness’ “Mornings with Maria” on Monday. “And I was throwing out these tiny little toothpaste tubes and I just envisioned them in landfills and realized that I had to make a change.”
When it’s time to brush your teeth, you simply pop a pill into your mouth, wet your toothbrush and start brushing. The tablet then dissolves as you brush eliminating the need for traditional toothpaste. McCormick said the product is not only environmentally friendly, but is also healthier for your teeth.
“One billion toothpaste tubes end up in landfills every single year, which is enough plastic to fill up the Empire State Building 50 times in one year,” she said. “This is a glass bottle that you’re meant to refill with compostable refill packets, but also it helps with the fact that harsh chemicals like triclosan, sodium lauryl-sulfate, [and] DEA [diethanolamine] are in toothpaste as well.”
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The tablets, which do not contain fluoride, makes it less dangerous for kids to use, and includes ingredients such as organic mint flavor and activated charcoal to make it 100 percent gluten-free, vegan and free of harsh chemicals.
The pills come in mint and mint charcoal flavors and can be ordered on the company website on a monthly subscription basis for $7.50 per month in addition to an option to purchase a one-month supply for $12 per bottle.