Ah, the dentist… there’s nothing quite like that biannual plaque scraping and the interrogation over your dental hygiene habits. “Have you been flossing? Your gums are bleeding.”

Of course, that has nothing to do with them being poked by a sharp metal stick!

While no one likes being guilted by their dentist for not flossing, it is an important part of dental hygiene—but what eco-friendly floss options are there?

Many believe the only sustainable option is no floss at all, but for those of us who fall in the pro-flossing camp, there are alternatives that reduce your oral care hygiene footprint.

And that’s what we’ve curated for you in this roundup. Sustainable floss made by brands who care as much about the impact of their products as they do about their effectiveness.

As we refresh our articles in the coming months, we’ll be using our new Brand Rating System to assess brands against a range of eco-criteria, like chemical use and transparency. Take a look at our explainer here for all the details.

We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.

Zero Waste Floss For Guilt-Free Gum Health

We loved using EcoRoots‘ floss, the bamboo fiber is strong, and smooth, and comes in a refillable glass jar.

While etee’s floss also comes with a refillable glass container, they provide little compostable refill bags for responsible disposal when you’re done. We found it performs really well and tastes great, though note that as it’s made from ahimsa silk, it’s not suitable for vegans.

Index: Sustainable Floss Brands

  1. EcoRoots Jump to section
  2. Etee Jump to section
  3. ZeroWasteStore.com Jump to section
  4. Georganics Jump to section
  5. Dental Lace Jump to section
  6. TreeBird Jump to section
  7. DIY Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Dental Floss Jump to section

EcoRoots

Price Range: $10

EcoRoots’ charcoal floss is made out of bamboo fiber, combined with activated charcoal and organic tea tree oil to detox and disinfect your mouth naturally. It’s flavored with organic peppermint oil for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. They also offer a non-charcoal variety made of compostable corn, plant-based candelilla wax, and organic mint and tea tree essential oils. There are no sweeteners, artificial flavoring, colorants, preservatives, or fluoride included.

Your first order comes in a glass and metal floss jar, which you can skip next time by ordering refill bundles that come in compostable boxes. You can also throw the used floss in your compost.

That’s just one of many plastic-free personal care products on offer from EcoRoots. You can also find soaps, deodorants, lip balms, and so much more from this ethical Amazon alternative.

Etee

Price Range: $12

etee cuts to the chase with one option of refillable silk floss. The floss itself has a natural peppermint flavoring thanks to some natural peppermint oil infused with the candelilla wax and peace silk strands. While this option is not vegan floss, it is the most ethically sourced silk on the market.

This compostable floss comes in either a glass or stainless steel sustainable floss holder, refillable via compostable cornstarch baggies.

If you’re looking to redo your entire dental routine, their Happy Tooth Essentials kit includes floss and bamboo toothbrushes, while other kids include toothpaste and mouthwash tablets.

Dental care isn’t the only thing etee offers. They sell a bunch of refillable cleaning products and reusable home essentials. All products are guaranteed to be delivered to your door 100% plastic-free. The boxes are printed with soy-based inks and shipped in cardboard boxes with cellulose packing tape.

My Personal Review of etee’s Floss:

“The texture of etee’s silk floss is as smooth as, well, silk, and it glides effortlessly between even my tightest teeth, effectively removing plaque without causing any irritation. I also love the subtle mint flavor, which leaves my mouth feeling fresh and clean without being too potent.”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

ZeroWasteStore.com

Price Range: $8–$14

ZWS Essentials is the in-house line from one of our favorite zero waste online stores, ZeroWasteStore.com.

They offer some of the best zero waste floss made from silk. Though it is an animal byproduct, it’s cruelty-free and only harvested after the silk worms have abandoned their cocoon. If you still hesitate at the thought of sliding silk between your teeth, their vegan floss replaced silk strands with bamboo fiber infused with organic peppermint oil to serve as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent. The bamboo floss contains additional activated charcoal.

Both kinds make for biodegradable dental floss you can toss in your home compost bin full decomposition within 60-90 days. They contain no preservatives, artificial coloring, or sweeteners and are housed in glass reusable dental floss jars.

ZeroWasteStore.com. are Climate Neutral, deliver plastic-free, and support environmental causes through ZeroWasteStore.com’s 1% For the Planet membership.

My Personal Review of Bamboo Charcoal Floss:

“So, I’ll admit it: I kinda like flossing. My mom was on my case about it all the time when I was a kid, so I guess it rubbed off on me. But honestly, this ZWS floss makes it even better because the silk slides through my teeth without any fraying or getting stuck. It’s also tough enough to get under my permanent retainer, which usually wrecks regular floss.”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

Georganics

Price Range: $7–$10

Georganics is one of the best zero waste toothpaste brands on the market, and their compostable dental floss follows suit. It’s totally vegan and waste-free, made of 100% corn-based PLA. They claim it’s compostable, but we’re not sure if it’s home compostable or needs to be thrown in an industrial facility.

Choose between three varieties: spearmint, orange, and charcoal (for extra whitening and detoxifying powers). Since these flavors are naturally derived and there is no added fluoride or other synthetics, this dental floss is safe for pregnant women and children as young as those with “2 teeth that touch”.

All come in a refillable glass container with refill options sans the packaging.

Dental Lace

Price Range: $30–$40

We’ll give credit where credit is due: Dental Lace was one of the first award-winning sustainable dental floss options on the market.

They offer a mint flavored non-vegan zero waste floss made of 100% mulberry silk coated in either beeswax or candelilla wax (you can pick between which you’d like to use to pick your teeth). The beeswax variety comes coated in peppermint essential oil, but both are FDA-approved, completely compostable, and free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, and lead.

Earth forward, fashion friendly”, each floss initially comes in a glass container with fun colored patterns (which encourages reuse even more!). The refillable glass jar is then packaged in a small cardboard box that’s post-consumer recycled, certified FSC and PFC-free, and made using renewable biogas energy.

Inside, the floss is wrapped for hygiene purposes in a plant-based PLA cellophane bag that will break down quickly in industrial composting facilities or in 6–12 months at home.

Dental Lace is manufactured in China at an ISO-certified facility.

TreeBird

Price Range: $20

TreeBird’s non-plastic floss comes with a bit of an ultimatum between zero waste and vegan. If you want something 100% compostable, they make a non-vegan pure silk floss, but their peppermint-flavored vegan charcoal floss is mixed with a small amount of polyester for strength. It’s biodegradable, but not compostable.

If you are set on this kind, the added tensile strength of the polyester means you might at least be able to make it reusable dental floss. If it looks in good shape, try rinsing and using it a couple more times.

Either one comes in your choice of glass or stainless jar, shipped in kraft paper boxes, compostable down to the plant-based sealing stickers and soy ink label.

DIY Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Dental Floss

You can also make your own zero waste floss, too.

One common recommendation we found was to use horse hair as floss. This might be a viable option if you happen to have a horse (or know someone who does), but we’re suspicious of the ethics behind buying horse hair if not.

You can also use non-abrasive thread as DIY floss. Regular cotton thread isn’t ideal because it can break easily and can get stuck. Upcycled silk cloth is ideal, so if you have old clothes like a silk blouse you never wear hanging around in your closet, consider letting it act as your long-time zero waste floss supply. We’ve also heard of hemp clothing being used for floss in the same way but we can’t say we’ve tried that!

Why Choose Eco-Friendly Flossers?

Traditional floss is composed almost entirely of petroleum-based plastic like nylon. That tiny foot long string of plastic might seem innocuous enough, but when you consider the US alone goes through about 3 million miles of floss per year, suddenly those strings add up. If everyone in the US flossed their teeth as the American Dental Association recommends, the discarded plastic containers could fill a football field six stories high annually.

Traditional floss is also coated in a highly toxic substance called PFAS, a subset of perfluorocarbons (PFCs), which are also responsible for some of the most potent greenhouse gas emissions.

Not only does it have a terrible environmental impact, but it’s actually bad for you, too. PFAS, the same thing Teflon is made from, are definitely not something you want that close to your gum line either. A recent study found elevated levels of PFAS in the bloodstream of floss users compared to non-flossers.

For our own sake as well as the planet’s, it’s time we get picky about how we pick our teeth.