Suri is a UK company making sustainable electric toothbrushes. They are also a B Certified Corporation.
Being B corp certified doesn’t mean shit. Nespresso is B corp certified. But I’ll definitely check out those toothbrushes
At the other end of the spectrum, Colgate sell battery powered brushes for kids with non-replaceable heads. When the head wears out you have to scrap the whole device. I wrote to Colgate (Palmolive) via their website and got a crappy canned response about how they are responsible and the environment is important to them blah blah blah.
https://www.colgate.com/en-gb/products/toothbrush/colgate-kids-minions-extra-soft-for-0-3-years
Edit: I know they’re not European either. I just wanted to call them out for how unsustainable they are compared to some others.
Great call out as that shit stinks
sustainable electric toothbrushes
I hate to be “that guy”, but I noticed this on their website:
Can I change the battery?Updated a year ago
No. But we can.
Thanks to our handle design, we can replace your battery once it reaches the end of its life.
Completely unnecessary, wasteful, and a part of planned obsolescence.
Even though I’ve owned a few Sonicare brushes, my current brush has been a $25 (Canadian) ARC toothbrush, that uses a single AAA battery.
I only remember replacing the battery twice in the last few years (maybe once a year, then?). So the idea to make a brush with a built-in battery + a charger seems crazy. There is literally no advantage to having a built-in battery for a device like this, and plenty of downsides.
Is your Toothbrush ultrasonic? I had an old Oral-b from 15 years ago but i bought a new Philips Sonicare 5500. Ultrasonic toothbrushes are amazing, how could i not buy it sooner?! lol Much nicer feel and better teeth.
They list sonic in all of their marketing material, but I don’t know if there’s a difference between ultrasonic and sonic in this sense. When compared to my Philips Sonicare, one of the higher-end models, I can’t honestly tell a difference, although the Philips has quite a few more options as far as vibration patterns and intensity, where this basically just has a single on/off button.
i cant see the bristles moving and it sounds like an ufo, if yes thats ultrasonic xD. (i cant describe the noise)
😂 yes, it’s quite silent and doesn’t have moving/spinning bristles like oral-b(?) brushes.
Disposable batteries aren’t sustainable either.
Comparing Suri to Phillips, you can at least have the battery changed, rather than throwing away the whole thing like with the Phillips.
I agree it would be better if the Suri battery was user changeable, they claim there is water proofing that makes it hard to repair yourself.
Looks like iFixit came out with the critique a few months back: https://www.ifixit.com/News/109270/you-cant-even-replace-the-battery-in-the-green-suri-toothbrush
Disposable batteries aren’t sustainable either.
Rechargeable is the way to go, and if they made their devices compatible with rechargeable AA or AAA lithium batteries, then it’s even better.
Even so, from what I understand, Alkaline batteries are easier to recycle and less of an environmental problem than lithium ion.
Comparing Suri to Phillips, you can at least have the battery changed, rather than throwing away the whole thing like with the Phillips.
God yes. I did have a Sonicare brush “die”, and I suspect that it was the battery, but who knows without being able to open it?!
I can for sure say that I’ve owned hair trimmers with non-removable batteries, and they basically hold less and less charge, making them useless as a “cordless” device. Those pretty much have to be replaced, and it’s frustrating. I’ve opted for corded options whenever possible, just to avoid built-in batteries.
Looks like I fix came out with the critique a few months back: https://www.ifixit.com/News/109270/you-cant-even-replace-the-battery-in-the-green-suri-toothbrush
Argh, yeah, that’s bad.
It should be law that any product with the “green” or “environmentally friendly” label must have user-replaceable batteries and components at the very least. And those labels should be certifiable before the product can be marketed as such.
I’ve had Oral B and Philips electric brushes and they were non-replaceable also.
Looks good and a good price but what an awful website - pop ups, scrolling text, unstoppable videos… nobody wants that.
oof.
Proud of ya son!
You make a good point!
Why is it called a tooth brush and not a teeth brush? We don’t use it to only brush one tooth. It is for all the teeth!
And now i have thought about this too hard and written teeth too many times, that i am beginning to doub if teeth is a word or if i am spelling it wrong 🤦
Maybe it was invented in Alabama.
Hah!
Interesting thought. I have a shoe brush, hairbrush, and lint brush.
Hmm that is… true 🤔
I straight up love my Sonicare. I never expected a toothbrush to be so satisfying, but it really is. It’s also nice to have the dental hygenist heap on the compliments!
Are you sure it’s not made in China?
I have a Philips Sonicare 5500, it arrived yesterday. its made in the nederlands. i was surprised!
Philips is known for selling their brand to Chinese companies, where except for the name the product has nothing to do with Philips. The best known example is probably the TVs made by TP Vision, which are sold under the Philips brand.
However it seems like the Sonicare toothbrushes are still made by Philips themselves. Or at least still made by Sonicare which Philips acquired in 2000. They were traditionally made in Indonesia, but have been made in China for the most part these days.
Oral-B would be a better option for European toothbrushes, they are made in both China and Germany. Although the ones made in Germany still use pre-production parts from China. But that’s just par for the course these days, almost everything is made in China.
No excuses not to brush your teeth anymore!
Europe is counting on you
If you ever have issues with it, reach out to their customer support. They’ll send you a new one.
“teeth brush”
Seriously?
it makes more sense than toothbrush. we all hopefully have more than one! :Đ
