Struggling to Live Palm Oil Free: Toothpaste

By now you have probably been educated on the perils of palm oil in our society. You get it: It’s bad for people, plants, and animals. You want to stop using it, but it is in virtually everything: your snack foods, your shampoos, your make up, and even your toothpaste. Living palm oil free in America is really really hard; and if you are on a budget it is nearly impossible.

Today I am going to share with you on one change you can make to live a little bit more sustainably. In reality changing just one thing for the better, has a greater impact than doing nothing at all. Let’s start by looking at the first thing you put in your mouth in the morning, and the last thing to leave your mouth at night: Toothpaste.

Toothpaste hides palm oil on it’s tube under different ingredients; they may have different names, but when it all boils down, it is still palm oil. On toothpaste they are usually hidden under the code names: glycerin, stearic acid, and vegetable oil. So next time you head to your medicine cabinet, check and see if any of these are on your tube.

If you use Crest or Colgate, I guarantee they are. Both companies are part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and only use forest friendly palm oil. While this type of palm oil is better for the environment, it still isn’t great. What would be best is to remove the ingredients completely. Are there any toothpastes that are completely palm oil free?

This weekend I took a trip down to my local Walmart to see if I could find any toothpastes that were budget friendly, accessible to the general public, and palm oil free. For price comparison my usual go- to for toothpaste is Colgate whitening and enamel health ($2.47 for 4 oz. tube)

One tube caught my eye right away: Earth Paste ($4.26 for a 4 oz. tube). Walmart carried two flavors: wintergreen and spearmint (which was currently out of stock). It uses only 5 wholesome and earth based ingredients, something they use as a marketing tool as well, so it was very obvious from the packaging. Water, Natural Xylitol, Salt, Essential oils, and food safe Redmond Clay; all which work together to kill bacteria, freshen breath, and restore the pH in your mouth to the correct levels.

Now if brushing your mouth with clay doesn’t seem like your cup of tea, I did find another option after a while of searching: Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Toothpaste ($7.77 for a 5 oz tube). While this product has organic glycerin in it; it does say right on the packaging “Vegan Approved”. Since palm oil is not vegan approved; this product can’t have palm oil in it. Thanks to this labeling I did a little more research on this product. Their glycerin is may be sourced from soy bean, corn, or canola oil, which would allow for them to be palm oil free and vegan approved. The price however was a deal breaker for me.

Going with the more budget friendly option I picked out the Earth Paste. The packaging was cute and the idea of having only 5 ingredients really intrigued me. Now let me review it for you. Taste was really good, slightly sweet, kind of salty, but left my mouth feeling really fresh. Texture was a little grainy, which I didn’t love; but I think with time I’ll get used to it. It really reminded me of the toothpaste you get when you are at the dentist. One thing that was kind of weird was that it didn’t foam up like normal toothpaste, but I still felt like my mouth and teeth were being cleaned. I was also pleasantly surprised it didn’t irritate my gums, which is something I have had to worry about in the past.

All in all, I’d give it a 4/5 stars. It was kind of weird but once it becomes part of my daily products, I probably won’t care. I did drop a star because it was $2 dollars more expensive than my usual brand. But, I guess you do always pay a price on your journey to be palm oil free!