biobrush GmbH is the start-up company that has developed affordable eco toothbrushes with a slick design adhering the holistic and sustainable concept for a resource-saving. biobrush team has been working on its realisation since 2015. The bioplastic for the handle and packaging film are made of leftover wood chips from the timber processing industry. As a basis for the nylon bristles, the company uses natural castor oil. biobrush is developing innovative, resource-saving dental products taking into account only relevant criteria of dental care. The toothbrushes comply with the state-of-the-art dental and hygienic standards and 100% made in Germany. Dentistry is united by a clear design with various future-oriented, resource-saving and pollutant-free materials. The puristic shape of the biobrush and the colouring makes it distinguishable in every bathroom. The company is constantly working on new designs and currently working on widening its assortment.
THE STORY
The start-up company biobrush has been working tirelessly on implementing the concept of biodegradable toothbrush ever since 2015. As a result, the team came up with a toothbrush that meets the strict German requirements of dental care and hygiene. The biobrush team consists of Nannett Wiedemann, Herbert Nabbefeld and Christian Steinbock. It is an integral part of the company’s philosophy to be at the forefront of innovation of resource-saving materials whilst bearing in mind the relevant dental features when developing the biobrush products and assortment.
Together with practicality, the puristic shape of the biobrush and the colouring makes it distinguishable in every bathroom. The bioplastic and packaging film base on leftover wood chips from the timber processing industry. It is used for the handle and the packaging. As a basis for the nylon bristles, the company uses natural castor oil.
Eco, what for?
Residual waste is incinerated. Thermal energy and electricity are the result of thermal recycling. If a biobrush-toothbrush is disposed of through residual waste, it will not cause any harm. As it hardly contains any fossil material and will have negligible carbon dioxide emission.
Common plastics like PET or PP are sorted and recycled in modern waste separation facilities. Bioplastic, including biobrush, are still quite exotic and are not recognised as a resource. They will be handled as residual product and incinerated.
Increasing use of bioplastics in future will ensure their reaching a critical mass, from which recycling of bioplastics in waste separation facilities will become economically justifiable. Suitable technical procedures are already being worked on. biobrush toothbrushes, when correctly sorted and provided the head and bristles have been removed, can be recycled.
Rather than incinerating leftovers from the timber processing industry, transforming them into thermal energy, biobrush turns them into the toothbrush, with the negligible carbon footprint. biobrush eco toothbrushes and their packaging contain only a very low percentage of fossil material.
THE PRODUCTS AND PRICES
The biobrush toothbrushes are available in different colours and created for adults and for children. All brushes are eco friendly and biodegradable and are made in Germany. The biobrush toothbrushes are sold in packs containing 12, 6 or 4 pcs, so that the cost for transportation is not disproportionate. With a set of 12 or 6 toothbrushes, it is possible to assemble own set for the year. Anyway, good toothbrushes are not necessarily expensive, not even when made of bioplastic. The toothbrushes could be purchased online through its own online shop.
The recommended retail price for biobrush for 4 pcs of child's brushes 9,60 €, adult toothbrushes cost for 6 pcs 15,00 € and for 12 pcs 28,00 €.
The biobrush toothbrushes have the following crucial features:
Evenly cut bristles
Rounded bristles allowing them to reach interdental spaces. Very important: Do not forget the dental floss!
Bristles medium to soft
A good cleaning result by using hard bristles does not justify injuries to the gum, according to the experts. Therefore, they recommend softer bristles.
Head medium to small
Thus facilitating the biggest possible cleaning surface-reaching all teeth.
Multi-tufted bristles
High-density tufting allowing good cleaning results. The space between the bristles, however, is important so that bristles can dry quickly, preventing bacteria to settle.
Angled head, abgewinkelt
Making it easier to reach molar teeth.
Minibi for children meet the same ecological and hygienic requirements as the adult toothbrush and is ergonomically designed for children's hands. Children want what adults want! This is why biobrush has the same monochrome colouring for the whole family.
The biobrush benefits for the Health:
- use of natural emolients (critic acid);
- certified free of BPA;
- the smooth plastic surface does not absorb moisture and is pleasant to use;
- no own taste (like wood or bamboo);
- the bioplastic does not contain any plasticizers;
- the colours are based on carefully selected pigments;
- the raw material of bristles is castor oil, from which nylon is made, it is not biodegradable but still ideal and most hygienic material available;
- holds all features relevant to an effective dental hygiene.
The biobrush benefits for the Environment:
- 100% use of renewable raw materials;
- the wood comes from sustainable forestry;
- a small amount of fossil raw materials in the brushes and packaging - a minimum that is still needed for the manufacturing process;
- due to the limited amount of fossil raw materials in brushes, they burn CO2-neutral at the end of their life cycle;
- if the brush does not end up in the household waste where it belongs, then the handle is biodegradable in about 5 years, the foil even after 42 days;
- the bristles are not yet degradable, but independent dentists confirm that nylon is still the best and most hygienic material.
Handle and packaging
The handle, as well as the packaging, are based on cellulose made of the wood waste from sustainable forestry. Bioplastic complies to DIN EN ISO 14855. The packaging is compostable and can be safely placed in the home compost heap.
Bristles
The material for the bristles comes from one hundred percent renewable materials where the main component is castor oil.
Colors
The manufacturing of all master batches is adopted to the bioplastic and contains carefully selected pigments in which the concentration of heavy metals is way below the threshold value. The colors compliant with EN1343.
DESIGN
During its relatively short presence on the market, biobrush became the winner of several well-known design awards. In 2017 biobrush became the winner of the international Red Dot Design Award as Best of the Best. In 2018, biobrush was a laureate at the German Design Award for „Excellent Communications Design/Packaging“ and has won the Green Good Design Award and became one of the Green Brands Germany since 2019.
The secret of the success lies in minimalistic design combined with features relevant to dentistry and the highest standards of sustainability and resource-saving. The company let the development of innovative and resource-saving materials flow into the products, taking dental and hygienic criteria into account. Product and packaging meet the expectations of a high-quality product and communication design at the same time.
While developing the biobrush toothbrush, the company followed the recommendations of independent dentists, manufacturers and research institutes. What is important in the design:
- narrow brush head;
- soft to medium hardness;
- clean brush cut;
- well rounded bristles;
- angled brush head.
The USP is that biobrush created a design object for the lifestyle sector from an uninteresting mass product. Due to its monochrome colour and shape, the biobrush appeals to the consumer in an emotional way and differs from other brushes both in the bathroom and in the trade. Compared to other bio toothbrushes that are rather expensive biobrush even more affordable.
The company have scrutinised every single detail that accounts for a good toothbrush: the printing ink and the amount of it used on the compostable packaging fil, the selection of the pigments for the colouring of biobrush toothbrushes and features related to the brush’s shape. But, of course, the roots of the assortment of colourful toothbrushes lie in a holistic, sustainable concept for resource-saving dental care products. The wood from sustainable forestry is used for the big brush toothbrush and its packaging, the nylon bristles are based on castor oil (not degradable) but is the best possible material in this regard. The foil that is used for packaging is made of cellulose.
AWARDS
In 2016 biobrush won the German Packaging Award for Sustainability for the compostable packaging film. After that, the little start-up company started piling up prices. A year on, in 2017, toothbrushes were honoured Best of the Best in Product Design at the Red Dot Award ceremony. In 2018 biobrush was a laureate at the German Design Award for „Excellent Communications Design/Packaging“ and won a „Green Good Design Award“ in the category „Green Product“. The latter is awarded by the European Centre for Architecture, Art Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Atheneaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. More detailed information on all award could be found by the link
