Super Fresh Mouth

Want to have a fresh mouth without making a mountain of plastic? I’ve been trialling natural mouthwashes for a long time to find the very best! The Green Shopper’s ‘toothbrush trials’ settled my favourite plastic-free toothbrush, and it’s time to up the game with our other oral care products. My household had previously settled on the JASON Sea Fresh* mouthwash and toothpaste, but we are taking further steps to reduce the plastic in our lives and needed to find an alternative.

My new favourite is Hydrophil Herbal Mouthwash Essence. It comes in a white glass bottle, and is made with essential oils of peppermint, clove, sage and tea-tree in a base of organic alcohol. It’s so concentrated that you only need three drops in a glass of water, so the bottle lasts a long time. My partner Joe loves to live on the wild side and adds seven drops to a tiny glass, and our first bottle still lasted us over two months. Hydrophil are a German company, all of their products are ‘water-neutral’ and 10% of their profits are donated to the charity Viva con Agua to help provide access to clean water in developing countries. The 100ml bottle can make up to 130 litres of mouthwash! In the UK you can buy it online from Babipur.

Weleda Ratanhia* mouthwash also comes in a very concentrated form in a glass bottle. It contains extracts of myrrh and krameria, along with flouride and silver. It’s got a bitter, medicinal taste so it isn’t the freshest feeling, but I’ve found it to be particularly useful for sore gums and mouth ulcers. Swiss company Weleda was founded in 1921 and has a sustainable ethos with a strong commitment to biodynamic agriculture.

Georganics Spearmint Mouthwash Tabs* are a totally plastic-free option that’s great for travelling as you can just take a few without the extra weight of transporting liquid. The tiny tablets dissolve really quickly and make a fizzy green minty gargle. The tablets come in a glass jar with an aluminium lid, and are the only option I’ve found for a ‘zero-waste’ mouthwash. Georganics entire range is plastic-free, vegan and made in the UK. I’m also using their Peppermint Coconut Oil Toothpaste* to try and reduce plastic waste in the bathroom. The toothpaste comes in a glass jar with a tiny bamboo spatula to apply it to your brush, which I thought might be a faff, but is actually surprisingly hassle free. The recipe is palm-oil free, and although it’s non-foaming formula is a bit different, it’s been leaving my mouth feeling very clean.

I’d love to hear more tips for low-plastic oral care: Has anyone found a plastic-free alternative to inter-dental brushes? Favourite palm-oil free toothpaste? Share your tooth wisdom in the comments below!

*All links marked with an asterisk are ‘affiliate links’ which means I’ll earn a tiny commission from the referral to contribute to the Green Shopper’s running costs, at no extra cost to your fine self.