If you’re looking for a planet-friendly way to polish your smile, palm oil free toothpaste is positively tooth-tastic.
Toothpaste is one of the few products we use twice a day. But when you brush with those that contain palm oil (like 50% of all products we buy), your bright smile has a dark side.
Not only does palm oil contribute to environmental damage and threaten rainforest-dwelling species, but it’s not necessary.
Palm oil—or one of its many derivatives, like the antifreeze ingredient propylene glycol—is a surfactant, i.e. an additive that foams and sweetens. Fortunately, palm oil free alternatives will keep plaque and propylene glycol far from your mouth. And the brands we’ve curated here also prioritize natural ingredients, and ethical sourcing.
In the next few months, we’ll be launching a new Brand Rating System, which will assess 22 sustainability-related criteria, such as climate impact and water use. To learn more about this system, take a look at our explainer.
If you’re in a (b)rush, here are a couple of our favorite brands that really give us something to smile about.
Our Fave Toothpaste Without Palm Oil
All-around green dental company Georganics has palm oil free toothpaste tablets, paste, and powder, that are sure to make you (and the orangutans) smile.
In an effort to reverse deforestation, Truthpaste plants a tree every time you order handmade toothpaste made with anti-inflammatory aloe vera and certified organic essential oils.
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.
Index: Palm Oil Free Toothpaste Brands and Products
- Georganics Jump to brand
- Truthpaste Jump to brand
- Elegant Rose Boutique Jump to brand
- Scentcerae Jump to brand
- Naturoganik Jump to brand
- Love Beauty Foods Jump to brand
- Terra & Co. Jump to brand
Georganics
About Georganics’ Toothpaste UK
Quite the oral care dream, Georganics has toothpaste tablets, paste, powder, and soap all free of palm oil.
Orange, spearmint, and English peppermint flavors are on offer.
Organic plant oils (like coconut oil) are combined with enamel-supporting sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate, with or without antibacterial and stain-lifting activated charcoal.
You’ll never have to worry about palm oil, phthalates, fluoride, glycerin, SLS, sulfates, or animal byproducts.
The tooth soap comes in a compostable cardboard tube, while the other products come in reusable glass jars with aluminum lids.
About Georganics
Georganics makes oral care products that are kinder on our earth.
In addition to toothpaste, Georganics offers plastic free mouthwash and zero waste floss.
Made by hand, they only use natural and organic ingredients, which are often locally sourced.
Their packaging is entirely plastic-free and the brand started a local initiative, Zero to Landfill, to responsibly dispose of products that aren’t easily composted or recycled.
If you’re in the UK, you can send them empty toothpaste tubes or used toothbrushes to be reused or recycled.
Truthpaste
About Truthpaste’s Toothpaste
Available in adult and kid versions, Truthpaste offers toothpaste in Peppermint & Wintermint, Sweet Orange, Charcoal Orange & Fennel, Fennel, Mild Mint, and Peppermint & Spearmint varieties.
They’re handmade with anti-inflammatory, gingivitis-fighting aloe vera and certified organic essential oils.
They come in reusable/recyclable glass jars, each of which will last about three months.
About Truthpaste
With Truthpaste, you can “kiss goodbye to synthetic ingredients.”
They only use naturally-derived botanicals and ingredients that are recognized to support oral health.
Everything is vegan, and free of plastic, animal testing, SLS, gluten, and palm oil.
When available, they source organic and fair trade ingredients (though they’re not always certified).
Elegant Rose Boutique
About Elegant Rose Boutique’s SLS Free Toothpaste
Designed to remineralize your teeth, Elegant Rose Boutique has toothpaste and tooth powder.
The toothpaste comes in Cinnamint, Defender, and Peppermint, varieties.
For the tooth powder, choose between Cool Mint, Defender, Peppermint, Orange Crush, and Spearmint.
All are free of palm oil, SLS, parabens, glycerin, flavoring, added color, and preservatives (which means they don’t ship the pastes in the summer because of the heat).
For a coconut free toothpaste, their tooth polish is made with just activated charcoal and Redmond bentonite clay.
Glass jars are available for the oral care products and they ship in all paper, but they do still use plastic containers when there isn’t a viable alternative.
About Elegant Rose Boutique
Elegant Rose Boutique is a family-operated business from Michigan specializing in organic body and facial care products.
Four of their eight children are proudly involved in creating, packaging, and shipping orders.
Wanting to create products with recognizable ingredients, they only use herbs, butters, sea salts, clays, and natural oils. Most are gluten-free.
While their toothpastes are palm oil free, some of their soaps do contain organic, sustainably sourced palm oil.
Scentcerae
About Scentcerae’s SLS Free Toothpaste
For a plastic and palm oil free toothpaste, Scentcerae’s toothpaste nibs offer a sustainable solution to support your pearly whites.
Only natural ingredients are used in nibs’ tasty flavors: Cinnamon Roll, Mint Chocolate Chip, Pina Colada, Matcha Mint, Cool Mint, Charcoal White, Fresh Strawberry, and Star Anise.
The nibs are designed to work like oil pulling, removing plaque and bacteria while remineralizing teeth, and supporting gums.
The first order is sent in a reusable/refillable waterproof tin. Those that follow come in compostable envelopes.
About Scentcerae
Scentcerae founder Sherae started this Etsy shop when she couldn’t find any zero waste products while living in Asia.
Now you can find her items in dental offices and hair salons around the globe.
All products are biodegradable, plant-based, cruelty-free, and gluten-free, but some contain beeswax and are thus not all vegan.
They never contain fluoride, palm oil, triclosan, SLS, artificial colors/flavors, glycerin, titanium dioxide, or abrasive ingredients.
Local, organic, and eco-certified organics are prioritized.
Everything is handcrafted in small batches in a zero waste lab and oils are cold-pressed or steam distilled.
All packaging is biodegradable, reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Naturoganik
About Naturoganik’s Toothpaste
Using food grade ingredients, Nautroganik’s toothpaste harnesses nature to remove plaque, remineralize enamel, whiten teeth, and eliminate bad breath.
You can choose between Spearmint, Peppermint, and Manuka and Peppermint. Activated charcoal can be combined with these flavors.
While most are vegan-friendly, the Manuka version does contain honey.
A Natural Whitening Teeth Powder is also on offer, which contains diatomaceous earth and cloves to detoxify the mouth and support gums.
Everything comes in reusable and recyclable glass jars.
About Naturoganik
UK-based Naturoganik makes products that are free of fluoride and harmful chemicals, as well as being vegetarian and vegan friendly.
They may be relatively new, but many reviewers report this is the best natural palm oil free toothpaste they’ve tried.
Love Beauty Foods
About Love Beauty Foods’ Toothpaste
With both toothpaste and tooth powder on offer, you can meet all your oral care needs through Love Beauty Foods.
In addition to flavors like Wild Orange & Mandarin, Spearmint & Tasmanian Wakame, Mint, Wild Orange, Lemon Myrtle & Bush Mint, Mint & Neem, and Lemon Myrtle, they also have an activated charcoal whitening toothpaste.
Reusable jars are used for all products. Each one replaces three plastic tubes!
About Love Beauty Foods
Hand made in Australia in small batches, Love Beauty Foods’ prioritizes local minerals and ingredients.
Made with certified organic and food-grade ingredients, the formulations are free of water, toxins, palm oil, and gluten.
They’re also cruelty-free, and vegan-friendly.
Terra & Co.
About Terra & Co.’s Toothpaste
Terra & Co.’s whitening toothpaste combines stain-lifting activated charcoal with the likes of organic extra-virgin coconut oil, xylitol, and diatomaceous earth.
“Tooth be told” it’s free of common toothpaste fillers, like artificial colors and flavors, added preservatives, SLS, palm oil and parabens.
It’s also been tested to ensure low abrasion, so it’s safe on enamel and provides some of the best toothpaste without palm oil for sensitive teeth.
It comes in a traditional toothpaste tube made with a byproduct of the sugarcane industry. Once the end is cut off, it’s curbside recyclable in most cities.
About Terra & Co.
Sister-owned Terra & Co. was founded when then-pregnant Amra realized that 232 chemicals are absorbed and passed along from mother to the baby.
Oral care products are an obvious source of some of these chemicals. So they started making better alternatives in their kitchen.
Now they offer a range of Ayurveda-inspired toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, and (watch this space soon) toothpaste tablets.
All products are vegan and never tested on animals. Most are made in the USA, too.
Why Buy Toothpaste Without Palm Oil
Why should we even look for toothpaste brands that steer clear of palm oil?
For the same reason we should choose palm oil free shampoo. Roughly 50% of the products we consume include this ingredient.
Popular toothpaste brands like Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Oral B, Colgate, Tom’s of Maine, Mentadent, and JASÖN are considered to have bad palm oil policies, according to Ethical Consumer.
This means that they use no or minimal certified sustainable palm oil products, and don’t have any commitment to do so.
Palm oil may be disguised as a derivative like SLS, SLES, palmitate, sodium lauroyl lactylate, or palmityl alcohol.
But why is this bad?
We’ve covered that answer extensively in our deep dives on this topic: see our articles on sustainable palm oil is really sustainable, and should you buy palm oil.
If you’re short on time, here’s the teeth of the matter:
Palm oil is the cheapest oil seed crop. This is because it’s super efficient, producing up to 10 times more oil per hectare than other oil crops, like soybeans. If we keep up with current consumption levels, we’ll consume around 447 million metric tons by 2050 (that’s A LOT).
While multinational corporations are making a pretty sweet profit using this cheap oil in everything, it’s coming at the cost of our environment.
About 1/5 of all tropical deforestation can be attributed to either palm oil or soybean oil.
So far, 27 million hectares have been deforested to make way for plantations—taking with it human settlements and animal habitats.
You’ve probably heard of some of these endangered animals—Sumatran tigers, Asian Rhinos, Borneo elephants, and orangutans—that are now threatened by these vegetable oil plantations.
Because of its efficiency, palm oil is still arguably a better crop than its alternatives (coconut, soybean, jojoba, etc.).
But, it’s clear we can’t keep consuming it at the same rate.
If you rid your mouth of palm oil, you may be ridding it of its common dental derivatives: glycerin, SLS, SLES, and propylene glycol, which have been associated with negative side effects and health complications.
If it’s not those derivatives, then palm oil is typically used for foaming and sweetening toothpaste (which is, obviously, unnecessary).
We can brush our way to a better planet (and mouth) with these palm oil free toothpaste alternatives.
