A sustainable smile?

With 64.1 millions human mouths in the UK, that's an awful lot of toothbrushes sold every year, especially with the recommendation that they are replaced every 3 months - in fact, it's a £110m annual industry.  But is the design of a toothbrush as sustainable as it could be? Two areas of design will be considered, the product itself, and the way that they are sold.

Various toothbrushes for sale in Sainsbury's

Get a grip

Although dentists recommend replacement of a toothbrush every three months as the bristles wear out, the handle certainly doesn't - and that's where the majority of plastic (and retail packaging) is required.  

The proposal is quite simple - replaceable toothbrush heads, allowing the customer to keep their handle for longer.  The physical connection between handle and head would need to be considered, but inspiration could come from a bayonet lightbulb fitting, or even a hand blender (push on, then twist to lock together):

Connecting the handle and attachment of a hand blender

The toothbrush market is an oligopoly (a few dominant players: P&G own Oral-B, Jordan own Wisdom, Unilever own Signal, Colgate-Palmolive own Colgate, etc.), so with some industry collaboration, they could agree a common connector, much like the mobile phone industry has eventually done in the EU using micro USB chargers.  Such a connection could also support additional brush heads, for denture cleaning, or tongue scraping.


A new revenue model?

If toothbrushes were available where the head and handle were available separately, then could the head replacement be offered as a service?  It would go something like this:

• Online, in-store, or at the dentist, a customer buys an initial toothbrush kit - simply a handle and standard brush head
• The customer registers their details online, alongside a direct-debit instruction
• Every three months, a new head is sent to the customer, at £1 per head (either from manufacturer, or via dentist)

It's a win:win:win:

• Environment: It saves a significant amount of plastic, and packaging (envelopes for postal service would be fully recyclable)
• Customer: has improved dental hygiene, as they don't forget to buy a new toothbrush; and it's cheaper and more convenient than the current approach
• Manufacturer: gets valuable customer data, and can cross-sell discounted consumables like mouthwash and floss - building brand allegiance

Electric toothbrushes

For those that have electric toothbrushes, this isn't a problem of course, as such models offer interchangeable heads for any occasion.

Electric Toothbrush Heads from Oral-B

Unfortunately, much like many smartphones and tablets, they have a battery built-in, which isn't replaceable.  It is not clear how many years (or charging cycles) the battery lasts (at least one manufacturer is only offering a two year guarantee), but I'd assume there are increasing numbers ending-up in landfill, or treated according to the WEEE directive.

Electric Toothbrush from Oral-B

It would be interesting to see how the long-term Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a manual toothbrush compares to an electric one, and also to see if there are different behaviours used between the two which has an impact on the amount of water used.



Summary

So, even for something as simple as a toothbrush, there might be opportunities to think not only about improving the sustainability of the product, but also a new revenue model.

PS

...why are toothpaste tubes sold in cardboard boxes?!

The sweet smell of sustainability

Unilever has incredible scale, offering a bewildering array of products to consumers around the globe.  With that comes huge responsibility of course, something which luckily their CEO, Paul Polman, takes very seriously.  He is one of the few CEOs who are providing sustainability leadership both within his company, but also across industries.  Please take the time to read more about Unilever's 'Sustainable Living Plan'.

Compressed Deodorants

One of Unilever's recent innovations caught my eye - they've dramatically reduced the size of their aerosol deodorants.  For the same amount of product, they use half the amount of propellant, 25% less aluminium, and fewer lorries required to transport them.  There's more information on their microsite.  It's a great step and sets a new benchmark for the sector.  Even for those that won't make a purchase based on the environmental impact should find a smaller size attractive (as long as they understand it will last as long).

However successful this is, could there be even more innovation for this simple product?  Here are some ideas - what do you think?

• Aerosol vs. stick vs. roll-on.  There are three major form factors for deodorants - the aerosol, the roll-on, and the stick.  Do consumers know which will minimise their impact on the environment, taking account of their 'lifecycle' (impacts from raw materials extraction, to production, to transportation, to disposal/recycling)?
• Another form factor? When MUM (as in "Mum's the word") launched the first commercial deodorant in 1888, it was sold as a cream in a jar. Could a renaissance of that form factor work?
• Reusable components.  For a long time, Body Shop have sold a roll-on deodorant which is refillable, allowing part of the applicator (the ball and outer case) to be re-used.  Why is this not mainstream?

  

• Dosage Control.  My hunch is that most people use more deodorant that in actually required - a cheeky extra bonus spray, or extra smudge of roll-on?  Could the casing provide a default dosage of deodorant suitable for most people, perhaps with the ability to tweak up/down the default as the user (or their family, friends and colleagues!) got used to what's required?
• Sweat less.  Is there room for fabric technology innovation and clothing design to help minimise sweating?  Sports clothing already does this, so can any lessons be incorporated into other clothing?
• Sweat even less.  People sweat for lots of reasons, but there might be some common triggers, e.g. lack of fitness, coping with stress, lack of confidence in speaking, etc.  Could a manufacturer address the lifestyle and well-being of its consumers in a positive way, such that less product is required?  Could even a simple nudge to drink more cold (tap) water help?