I started looking into eco friendly health and body care products approximately 18 months ago when I came a cross a small family business based in Germany that makes brushes in the traditional way, using wood from their own managed forests and bristles made from sisal or animal hair (no animals harmed may I point out).

At first the idea of a wooden toothbrush didn't really appeal to me. Like everybody else I presume, I was brought up with a plastic toothbrush in my toothbrush holder and it didn't occur to me how damaging plastic toothbrushes are to the environment. When you think about it, it's frightening: millions of toothbrushes are disposed of every year all around the world. 99% of them are made from plastic. And plastic takes a long time to break down in our landfill sites. Who recycles plastic toothbrushes? Do you? Most councils here in England don't take them for recycling - I was told off on numerous occasions when I tried to put mine into the plastic recycling container.

After looking at pictures of the wooden toothbrushes for weeks I then decided to buy some, just to try them out. They arrived and almost instantly I liked them. They looked good, had a good feel and brushing wasn't bad at all. The only thing one has to bear in mind is not to leave the toothbrush standing in a glass that contains - even a minimal amount of - water as otherwsie the wooden handle swells and blisters. Having said that, the toothbrush handle is oiled with organic vegetable oil to make it more water resistant. My first wooden toothbrush lasted the obligatory 3 months without a problem. I then shredded it and put it onto my compost. Job done!

I always use two wooden toothbrushes now. One for the morning and one for the evening. This way I make sure the handle dries out completely and the bristles have time to recover and dry out properly too. If you treat your tootbrushes with respect they will thank you for it and they won't attract any baceteria whatsoever. My dentist says my teeth are very clean and my gums are healthy. I hardly ever need to see the hygienist. Once a year and that's that.

So, if you want to do start saving our planet start with something simple like a wooden toothbrush.