Tom's of Maine touts itself as a socially responsible company (there are pictures of Tom's of Maine employees planting trees together in matching t-shirts right on the box) that uses healthy, natural ingredients. I felt pretty good about this purchase, even though it cost almost twice as much as a tube of Crest Multi-Care for half the amount of actual toothpaste in the tube. Despite the price tag, I felt better about getting started with naturally flavored dental care. And bonus - It tastes deliciously minty and has a pleasantly smooth texture.
I really thought I had found our new toothpaste on the first try. But not so fast..... My post about Sulfates prompted me to read the ingredient list more closely. And wouldn't you know it - Even squeaky clean Tom's of Maine uses Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in their toothpaste. Blast.
Luckily for this experiment, our 5 oz tube of toothpaste only lasted us a few weeks. So when I was in Trader Joe's last weekend, I ducked into their tiny personal care section and snagged a tube of Trader Joe's natural toothpaste.
The label checked out - no sulfates. Plus it only cost $2 and some change for a 6 oz tube. Bingo! There was, of course, a catch. You can instantly tell that it is "all natural" because it tastes like what you might expect some home-made toothpaste to taste like. Baking Soda with a hint of mint and chalk. But it seemed to work well enough in the breath department, and it was a lot cheaper than Tom's, so again I made the mistake of thinking I had found our new toothpaste.
Time to check in with our good friends at The Good Guide and Skin Deep.
Tom's gets an impressive 8 out of 10 on the Good Guide. Healthy, enviro-friendly, and socially responsible to boot. Skin Deep gives it a 3 out of 10 for toxicity. I'm kind of surprised, considering it contains SLS, but I guess it is in a small enough concentration that it doesn't knock it out of low-risk range. Other Tom's toothpaste varieties got a 4 or even a 5 for toxicity, so it's better to check out the specific formula before assuming it is free from compromising ingredients.
The formula of Trader Joe's toothpaste I bought didn't show up on either the Good Guide or Skin Deep, but overall even Trader Joe's "natural" lines of personal care products averaged around a 6 out of 10 on the Good Guide, scoring high for health but low for environment and society.
So it looks like the winner of the Friday Faceoff is gonna be Tom's of Maine! Despite it's price tag and SLS inclusion, it looks like the better bet overall. Which is good for my mouth and taste buds, but sad for our budget. I'll check out other stores for deals on Tom's toothpastes.
I should note that the Skin Deep toxicity ratings for a couple of Tom's of Maine products were startlingly high. So, again, it's a good idea to peruse the ratings before assuming that their wholesome corporate culture makes up for potentially problematic ingredients.
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