Pearl Drops Strong White Polished Mint Flavour Toothpaste, 75ml

Product Information

In March 2018 Greenpeace International released its report called “Moment of truth: time for brands to come clean about their links to forest destruction for palm oil”. At the start of 2018, Greenpeace International challenged 16 companies to demonstrate their progress towards a clean palm oil supply chain. Whilst Colgate Palmolive was one of the eight companies which had responded to Greenpeace’s challenge, they concluded, 'Although most traders had published "no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation" policies, there were serious problems with their implementation'. The term organic can become a bit vague, especially in cosmetics where you don’t need to certify your product to describe it as organic. Its not uncommon to see products generally described as natural and organic without it being that clear what this means, which can make it confusing for consumers.

While the company has made some improvements since we last updated the toothpaste guide such as bringing out a vegan and organic certified toothpaste and removing triclosan from all its products, with a score of 3.5 it still has a long way to go. In terms of marketing and advertising, the brands that dominate the market portray their products as scientific and technological with unique, specialised ingredients purportedly conferring proven health benefits. For example, in 2018, a Colgate advert was banned by the Advertising Standards Agency for making misleading claims that a product “repairs teeth instantly”, according to the BBC this is the fifth dental product advert Colgate has had banned in the last seven years.Lush Toothy Tabs – (Lush Cosmetics uses palm oil but get a best rating for palm oil sourcing overall) The devastating effects the global demand for palm oil is having on our rainforests and the wildlife and people that live there has made it a highly controversial ingredient. It is also commonly found in toothpaste but it is possible to avoid it or choose companies that have better sourcing practices. While many companies now offer at least one type of vegan toothpaste, the entire range of the following toothpastes are clearly labelled or certified as vegan. We also state whether the whole company group is vegan, vegetarian or neither. Company type

Although be careful as these terms can be used loosely and end up being just as misleading. For example, sometimes companies use the term ‘organic’ in a general way to refer to ingredients which are non-synthetic or plant based (rather than ones grown without chemicals) or place the emphasis on one or two natural or organic ingredients even while the rest of the ingredients might be anything but! Alternative toothpaste brands tend to avoid fluoride in their formulations. Why is this? We asked the opinions of three different parties in this recurring debate about whether fluoride should be added to toothpaste. In favour of fluoride: The British Dental Health FoundationPearl Drops*, Sensodyne*, Aquafresh*, Arm & Hammer*, BlanX*, Clinomyn*, Theramed*, Superdrug*, Macleans*, Corsodyl*, Eucryl*, Sarakan*, Polygrip*, Dr Organic*, Biotene*, Boots*. These companies also lost half a mark under Pollution and Toxics for having inadequate policies on microplastics and liquid polymers

verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Taking these variables into account, the dosage of fluoride achieved by this route of administration is highly unpredictable. Since an excess of fluoride causes mottling of teeth (dental fluorosis) and has been linked to brittle bone disease (skeletal fluorosis) we believe that a more carefully controlled dosage is required. We advise that people who are concerned about fluoride deficiency should consider taking fluoride tablets or drops from a pharmacy. The UK market value for toothpaste is estimated at about half a billion pounds, and while there are hundreds of toothpaste products easily available the market is dominated by three main companies, Colgate taking by far the largest share. It’s also worth saying that while Truthpaste’s toothpastes as a whole were not certified, it did provide full ingredients lists with its products and the majority of these were marked as certified organic. Triclosan is an anti-bacterial agent, first used by surgeons to sterilise their hands, which is still in use in health settings. Triclosan and other antibacterial agents have been in widespread use in a surprising array of consumer products including sports clothing, children’s clothing, soft toys, mattresses, deodorant, make-up, skincare lotions, chopping boards, pencils, and kitchen tools.Fluoride comes from a number of different sources including toothpaste, specific fluoride applications and perhaps the drinking water in your area. These can all help to prevent tooth decay. If you are unsure about using fluoride toothpaste ask your dentist, health visitor or health authority. Animal testing is obviously a key issue for any personal care products. The following brands received our best rating for animal testing policy because they were either certified by Cruelty Free International (Leaping Bunny) or they had a fixed cut-off date for animal testing:

Toothpastes that may contain palm oil but are made by companies with our best rating for palm oil sourcing

It’s worth remembering that fluoride is a poison and needs treating with respect. There are many poisons that we use to our benefit that are harmful if misused. So the topical use of fluoride might be viewed as good by those who feel that the fluoridation of water is not.