How to make homemade toothpaste

To diy toothpaste or not to diy toothpaste, that is the question.. 

From a practical standpoint, brushing your teeth with toothpaste is unnecessary. You can remove food debris and plaque from your teeth without using toothpaste. All you need is a soft toothbrush and good brushing techniques to remove plaque. (https://www.dentalplans.com/dental-information/dental-concerns/does-toothpaste-damage-my-teeth) There was even a study done that concluded brushing first without toothpaste leads to better plaque removal when compared with toothbrushing with toothpaste. Brushing without toothpaste, however, does not prevent cavities. I personally would like to have some sort of cleaning mixture to use when brushing, and I think most of us would. But to each their own on how they would like to approach the toothpaste question. Questions have also arose if making diy toothpaste is safe and effective. However, there has been more research and support to prove that it is safe, rather than it isn't. (Disclaimer: I am not a dentist, but I have done thorough research on this topic. If you find that the only method that works for you is to buy regular toothpaste in the plastic tube, or your dentist recommends that you do not use natural or homemade toothpaste, than please follow your dentist's advice. We do not want to force people to change or go against what is needed for their health. We just want to suggest alternatives to using plastic, and how to do so!)

With that being said, let us delve into the world of homemade/handmade toothpaste!

Benefits of homemade toothpaste:
1. No plastic! I think we are all happy about that one. I know I am.
2. Cost effective. In the world of going plastic-free, we also want to make the process as low cost as possible. You will surely save a lot making your own toothpaste. Those savings will add up. Good toothpaste can be very costly.
3. It's a fun, mindful activity that can be done together with family, friends and loved ones.

My easy recipe for homemade toothpaste:

What you will need:
1. A glass container/jar with lid
2. Organic, unrefined coconut oil
3. Baking Soda
4. Organic peppermint, (or any flavor), essential oil (optional)

Directions: 
1. Clean and prepare the container where you will be storing the toothpaste. I used a recycled jam jar that was a perfect size for toothpaste storage. But feel free to use a mason jar, or any other type of glass container with a lid. No plastic of course!
2. Depending on how much you are making, pour 1 part Organic, unrefined coconut oil with 1 part baking soda, into a bowl. If you use 1/2 cup of the coconut oil, than use about 1/2 cup of the baking soda as well. NOTE: If you find that the toothpaste is a little too liquidy, add more baking soda to the mixture. No matter what, homemade toothpaste will not have the same consistency as store bought toothpaste, because it doesn't have all the additives, preservatives and unhealthy ingredients!
3. Then drop 20-25 drops of essential oil into the mixture (optional).
4. Mix thoroughly with a wooden utensil. I used a wooden chopstick I had recycled.
5. Transfer to your jar of choice and seal with a lid until use!

There are definitely more complex and intricate recipes for diy toothpaste that contain ingredients such as bentonite clay and xylitol. I have seen a variety of recipes for this more complex toothpaste online, but probably one of the best is from this dentist in Spain. If you are feeling ambitious and have access to these ingredients, please do try the more complicated recipe! If not, try mine and let me know how it worked for you! In addition, if you have other tips/questions/comments to add, please do so!

And don't forget your bamboo toothbrush! One of the first things to go is that old dreaded plastic toothbrush that takes 400 years or never, to decompose!

STRAWS STRAWS STRAWS!!!

The picture below literally represents how I feel every time I see a plastic straw. In the US, approximately 500 MILLION plastic straws are disposed of every day. The type of plastic these straws are composed of cannot be recycled, so as a result, they end up in landfills and littered throughout our streets, in our oceans, rivers and everywhere in between. Furthermore, plastic degrades at an extremely slow pace, if at all. Here is one for you: every piece of plastic that has ever been created, still exists on the planet today. That means that every toothbrush, you, your parents, your grandparents and everyone you know, has ever used, is still here! Let that sink in. Stop for a moment and think about all the items you use day to day that contain or are made of plastic. Your cellphone, your toothbrush, your hairbrush, your razor, your sunglasses and so on.. We cannot escape the plastic and it is only getting worse. However, we can make moves to change it. But we have to start taking action immediately, and collectively. We also need to begin holding corporations accountable that are producing all these single-use plastic products. Yes, we need to #ChoseToRefuse and take part in #PlasticFreeJuly, (and hopefully a #PlasticFreeLife), but we need to call out corporations that are unreservedly destroying our planet by producing massive amounts of single-use plastic and products. Plastics are piling up in the oceans and being found inside fish and other sea life. You have almost certainly eaten fish, (if you eat fish), that contain plastic. You have eaten plastic.

More and more municipalities are banning straws, but we can do our part to help by refusing straws, plastic bags and other disposable plastic products. Don't forget, bring your metal, glass or bamboo straw(s) with you when you go out! Also a filled reusable water bottle, especially in this east coast summer heat! And don't forget your takeout containers and reusable bags when eating out and shopping!

Plastic Free New Jersey launch!

Nothing we use for five minutes should pollute our environment for hundreds of years.

The well-anticipated and long awaited blog of Plastic Free New Jersey is finally here! Well maybe only anticipated by myself and awaited by a few close followers on my Instagram account, (@plasticfreenewjersey), but regardless, the blog has arrived. What began this journey? I'd say we would have to begin with my childhood. I have been environmentally conscious and environmentally aware, since a very young age. Even more, I have been involved with social justice issues, community activism and engagement since my early teenage years; organizing meetings with fellow kids from the block with the town mayor, later earning a BS in Biological Sciences then a Masters degree in Public Policy, joining AmeriCorps at a local area soup kitchen, and most recently, serving as the Assistant Director for the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) in Princeton, NJ.

At CFPA I left a behind legacy that began a journey. I was the co-founder and leader of the No Wars, No Warming campaign that linked anthropogenic climate change to conflict, social injustice, and war, (more on that in another post). Fast forward to the picture below which I first saw about a year ago in a National Geographic post on Instagram. This was one of the saddest pictures in nature and of nature, I think I had ever seen. No human or animal was injured, no. There wasn't a massive blight or extinction to a species. It wasn't an image of elephants and rhinos being hunted for sport, or a grizzly bear family being trophy hunted while hibernating. I have seen some gruesome and awful photos in my life, but this one was different. This image evoked melancholic feelings only. I felt nothing but sadness while looking closely at it for a long time. Sad, because I knew the seahorse had not brought that item onto this earth. Sad, because I knew the seahorse had no idea what the item was it was holding on to. Sad, because there is only one species on earth that leaves things behind on this planet that were not there before. Sad, because the seahorse clung to that q-tip as though it was the last piece of coral reef in the ocean. And sad, because I knew there was something that could have been done to prevent this photo from ever happening. Pictures are really worth a thousand words. Then, of course, we all have seen the video of the turtle with a straw stuck inside it's nostril. That was the last STRAW for me. I knew something needed to be done.

I had already been eliminating waste from my life by not buying paper towels and replacing them with this amazing reusable wash cloth that I bought from a local NJ small business, (more on that later). I was never a Starbucks customer for several environmental and social justice related reasons. I always paid attention to all my recycling habits. I have always bought second-hand and re-purposed clothing, household items, gifts, etc.. I refuse to buy anything new unless it is a necessity. I do not drive, but rather chose to walk, take public transportation, carpool, or use a car-service like uber. I bring bottled water with me everywhere. I had divested long ago from big banks and corporations that were connected to the destruction of our planet through the use of fossil fuels. But I had not yet ditched the plastic use all together, until the last few months. I am still not completely 100% plastic-free, for it takes time to divest and transfer over all old single-use items and replace them with sustainable options, (we are pretty much down to old house cleaning bottles that need to be used, and food spices that are in plastic containers).

Now on to the blog and Plastic Free New Jersey. As our mission states, the purpose of this space is to inspire and educate New Jersey and beyond on how to maintain a plastic-free lifestyle while maintaining a social and environmental justice worldview, and why it is important to do so. Why our lives, the life of the planet and all it's inhabitants, depend on it. Humans have become very isolated in their thinking. New Jersey is the, or one of the most densely populated states in the US. Humans consume so much, produce so much waste, yet do very little to clean up the mess, or prevent it from happening in the first place. Let us begin with rewiring how we think. How we live. How we interact with the environment that sustains us. That is why I have created this community space. I aim to fill it with tips, resources, educational materials, anecdotes, and solutions on how to rid your space, and the planet, of all the harmful plastic and single-use products you encounter day to day. And to do so with a purpose. It will not be easy, but remember, you are not alone! I will be right there with you on this journey, learning and becoming 100% plastic-free, and posting about it every step of the way. 🌎🌊✌

Picture courtesy of http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/planet-or-plastic/