The Top Line: NOT A BUY

MEH. We really like Public Goods so far, but we did not like this toothbrush, since we’re being honest.

Made of bamboo, it is a more sustainable product than a typical plastic toothbrush. But we did not like how the handle nor the bristles felt and was way too big for us (YMMV on that one).

The Breakdown:

• Cost & Products: $4 for a pack of 2 toothbrushes

• How ‘Clean’ Is This? 100% biodegradable bamboo

• Packaging: Comes in a compostable package!

• Purchasing & Shipping: The website is cleanly designed and ordering is a straightforward. The free shipping threshold seems a little on the high side at a minimum of $45.

  We wish the membership fee was waived in lieu of higher individual prices for products.

• Good to Know: The Public Goods blog goes out of its way a bit to compare products and reveal ingredients in its content.

  Almost ALL bristles on any toothbrush will be made of some type of nylon or plastic. Even if the handle is biodegradable, you must remove the bristles and throw those out!

• Coupons: $10 off your order with ‘BLOG10’

• Whats Your Impact? No plastic toothbrush in the landfill; instead, it is made of biodegradable bamboo.

The Efficacy

We have mostly used plastic toothbrushes so far, from Colgate to Oral-B. Despite working in a dental facility in our past, we have never used an electric toothbrush (pro tip: they don’t clean any better; they are just more fun/expensive so you end up brushing for the right amount of time):

• Hate the handle; it feels like holding a 2X4

• We like extra-soft bristles; these are somewhere between soft and medium

• The brush head was way too big for our mouth (we may not be a typical sample here as we like to use children’s size toothbrushes)

• Sigh.

The Cost

To prevent germs accumulating and making sure the bristles do their job. toothbrushes need changing every 3 months! So here we calculate the yearly cost of 4 toothbrushes per person:

• Public Goods Bamboo (2pk) $4 | Yearly cost: $8

• Colgate Extra Clean Toothbrush (4pk) $4 | Yearly cost: $4

• Colgate 360 (4pk) $10.50 | Yearly cost: $10.50

• Oral B Indicator (4pk) $7 | Yearly cost: $7

• Brush with Bambo (4pk) $5.50 | Yearly cost: $5.50

• EcoFrenzy Bamboo (4pk) $6 | Yearly cost: $6

Money Thoughts: On the higher end of expensive, even when compared to other bamboo options.

The Good:

✔ Biodegradable bamboo

✔ Compostable and recyclable packaging

✔ Looks nice in our bathroom

The Bad:

✗ Large brush head; too-firm bristles for us

✗ Not the most affordable

✗ Don’t like the feel of the handle, it felt kind holding a dry piece of wood (sounds weird, but we didn’t like it)

Our Recommendation:
We are not fans of the Public Goods toothbrush. If you like brushes on the firmer and larger side and don’t care about the ‘touch’ of the handle, then you may not mind. But it’s also a touch more expensive. We will look elsewhere.

We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!