Sew

This is an introduction to why you might want to and how you can start sewing plastic free. If you already know the answer you can follow the links to the specialist posts as listed.

Why Sew Your Own?

The plastic in ready made clothes
A quick intro to synthetic, regenerated, combination and natural fibres.
Why I prefer natural fabrics over synthetics here.
An introduction to fabric
notes working with different fabric

Sewing Supplies

on line suppliers
Local fabric shops.
British made Fabric
organic cotton on a wooden reel.
Needles & pins in cardboard boxes
Trimmings Zips & Fastenings
Patterns
Scissors from the C. Booths Hardware Shop in Huddersfield.
Patterns

working with fabric – as a sew I learn. very much a work in progress
lots more tasks #plasticfree right here

Please Note…

Since I started the blog in 2006, the range of plastic free products available has skyrocketed and online shopping is well established. Facebook and Twitter can convey information far more quickly.

And so any of these posts will be out of date. Updating them is time-consuming and given the rate of change hardly worth it. Many of the products it took me so long to source can now easily be found in a variety of places online. I’m leaving them up as a record of availability but do your own research.

Full disclaimer here

Introduction To Plastic Free & Ethical Sewing

Making your own clothes is probably the only way to get them totally plastic-free. New clothes come packed in plastic and hung on plastic hangers. Even when they are made of natural fibres, the cotton used to sew them, buttons and care labels are all synthetic, plastic fibres. You can read more about the plastic in ready made clothes, here.
Plus the only way I can afford fair trade organic clothes is make them myself. And I get to support local fabric shops which is very important to me. As is buying U.K. made fabrics.

Here is my guide to sewing plastic free….

Fabric
First you have to decide which fibre – synthetic or natural. While they all have bad points, naturals are way better than synthetics not least because at the end of life they can be composted. Natural fibres are harvested from nature either from animals like wool and silk, or plants like cotton. Most synthetic fabrics are derived from petrol. But there is a kind of in-between called regenerated fibres. The base material is cellulose that can be obtained from a range of sources including wood, paper, cotton fiber, or bamboo. It is then converted through a chemical process into a fiver. the later is often touted as an eco fabric but treat those claims with caution.

here is a quick intro to synthetic, regenerated, combination and natural fibres.
And the reasons why I prefer natural fabrics over synthetics here.

Wool cotton and linen are really the plastic free way to go for me.

Organic & Fair-trade

As many fabrics are made in poorer countries, do try to source fair-trade when ever possible. There are good reasons for trying to also source organic. Cotton especially uses huge amounts of pesticides.

I can only buy organic fair-trade fabric on line. Which leads to problems with packaging. So many people will send it out in plastic bags. But there is one company, Offset Warehouse who in addition to having fantastic fair-trade, organic, eco credentials, and a great range of fabric they will post out in plastic-free packaging.

Local Shops

Problem is fair trade and organic don’t come cheap and I can’t always afford it. Also I cant always buy it locally. So, without beating myself up about it, I also buy natural but almost-certainly-non-organic, who-knows-how-it-is-made fabric because I like to buy from local fabric shops. Buying locally is also buying sustainably. There are many very strong reasons to support local shops. especially fabric shops. There aren’t that many of them, you get to see and learn about fabrics, the staff know lots, they get people into sewing they provide all the bits and bobs you might forget to order online and like all local shops they need supporting.

Locally Made Fabrics

This year I wanted to source some locally made fabrics. In the U.K. the locally made fabric is wool. It is especially relavent to me as I live in Yorkshire a place once famous for its woolen fabric. There used to be hundreds of mills churning out meters of the stuff but those days are long gone. Indeed you may be surprised to hear that there are any working mills left. I was. But my research revealed that Yorkshire cloth is still being made by a handful of mills. What they turn out now is a luxury product. If you thought organic fair-trade was expensive check out these prices. £ 50.00 a meter is the cheap end of the market and way out of my price range.

BUT down on Leeds Market there are folk selling end of line end of roll lengths for very reasonable amounts. And I am sourcing lots more

Buy

on line suppliers
Local fabric shops.

Sewing Supplies

Needles, Pins & Cotton

These can be tricky to find plastic free so you will pleased to know we have found these online suppliers who will post out in plastic free packaging
Organic cotton on a wooden reel.
Needles & pins in cardboard boxes

Patterns

I buy paper patterns from my local fabric store.You can download them from the internet but you might need a bit of sewing experience for this to be completely successful.
There’s no doubt that patterns ar expensive but you can make a surprisingly wide range of outfits from just a few basic shape. Check out my patterns here.

Scissors

You can buy all metal scissors from the C. Booths Hardware Shop in Huddersfield.

Other Fixtures & Fittings like buttons, zips and the rest can be found here.

Machine

If you want to be really hardcore, plastic free you will have to sew by hand. I did make some bloomers and a headscarf that way. It can be done but meh! life is too short. So unless you buy and old treadle sewing machine, you will be using a modern machine with some plastic. Consider it plastic to cut plastic.

Results

You can see what I have made, here

See how to do lots more tasks #plasticfree right here

N.B.
lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x

Join our Facebook group here

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or

Coconut Oil

20 November 2013 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1.3 Oils & Spreads, 3.1.7 Clean-tone-cream, 3.2.2 West Yorkshire, 3.2.4 make, 4 raw materials 2 Comments

Is a hard oil which has a very low melting point.
When the weather gets warm it will get liquid.

I use it….

to remove eye make up and clean crusty eyes.
as a conditioner. I have very oily hair so I rub it on my hair before showering, leave for 5 minutes then shampoo off. Afterwards my hair is lovely and silky. Village boy has very dry hair so he applies a little after showering. His hair is nice and smooth.
as a general moisturiser. Just slap it on, it is nice and light.
in my homemade creams
as an after sun treatment use it neat or with a few drops of lavender essential oil to help heal sun damage
as a lubricant with these biodegradable condoms

Other people use it to do rude things, for cooking and lots of other stuff.

Buy

I buy mine great big glass jar at Kadims, the Asian Supermarket on Blacker Road Huddersfield. You can also get it in a glass bottle from Tescos and of course on line. You can get organic coconut oil from the Half Moon Health shop in Huddersfield.

NB Not quite plastic free as the lid is plastic lined, but as close as you will get.

Buy Online


	Biona Org Odourless Coconut Oil 610 ML x 1 £10.00

Amazon Products

Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source. But sometimes you can’t buy local so I have put together an Amazon catalogue.

Yes we do get an affiliation fee for this, and no we are not entirely happy with Amazons recent history. However, we have always found their service to be good and their packaging usually compostable.

Glue

4 October 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 00 working, 3.2 house, 3.2.4 make, 4 plastivan

So many glues, so many man-made polymers. Plastic? In glue? Oh don’t get me started! Yes lots of it, and not just the packaging. Find out more about plastic HERE

Wikkipedia tells us that

Adhesives may be found naturally or produced synthetically.

Neanderthals produced tar from the dry distillation of birch bark for use in binding stone tools to wooden handles. The Greeks and Romans made great contributions to the development of adhesives. In Europe, glue was not widely used until the period 1500–1700 CE. From then until the 1900s increases in adhesive use and discovery were relatively gradual.

Only since the last century has the development of synthetic adhesives accelerated rapidly, and innovation in the field continues to the present.

You can read more but basically most modern glues are synthetic polymers. Some are actually plastic that you melt and use to stick stuff

Glue

not easy to find plastic free. Heres an introduction to some of the greener glues

And BostiK seems to be natural rubber in solvents.

A new tin of Bostik 3851 natural rubber adhesive glue. It can be used for bonding natural rubber and latex sheeting to each other and to porous surfaces such as leather, canvas etc. Volume: 250

EVO-STIK 3851
BOSTIK 3851
CONTACT ADHESIVE
NATURAL RUBBER CONTACT ADHESIVE
Bostik 3851 Adhesive is a translucent grey, natural rubber solution in petroleum solvents.

Recommended Use:
Bostik 3851 Adhesive is used for bonding natural rubber and latex sheeting to each other and to porous surfaces such as leather, canvas etc.

Bonding Instructions:
Ensure rubber surfaces are thoroughly clean and dry, abrading the surfaces if possible. Leather surfaces should also be abraded if necessary

Apply Bostik 3851 Adhesive by brush to both surfaces to be joined and allow the adhesive to become touch dry (approximately 10 – 20 minutes) before bonding the surfaces together under pressure

Why This Post Is ….

A little bit rubbish. You are reading a work in progress. Here’s how the blog is written and why we post half cocked.

N.B.

lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or

Using Essential OIls

20 July 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1.7 Health, 3.2.4 make, 3.2.4 make makeup

This is a post in progress. As I learn so I will add to it. For now this is what I know about and have used essential oils for….

What Are Essential Oils?
They are not actually oils because they do not contain fatty acids.
They are in fact terpenes
Terpenes organic compounds produced by plants.
They are often strong-smelling.
So essential oils are the strong smelling terepenes found in plants.
You can read more about this,here

Do I Need Essential Oils
Essential oils are resource hungry, have a large environmental footprint.
For example 5,000 to 10,000 pounds of rose blossoms to produce one pound of essential oil. You can read more about this,here
All of which makes me wary of using essentail oils. I do love the smell but I don’t like the idea that so many resources go into making one tiny bottle of luxury scent.
So I use them sparingly and only when they are needed.

Buy Ethically
Ideally you should buy local oils and never oils from endangered plants.
buy from a company that is clear about how they grow and harvest their oils. You can read more about this,here
Take a look at Pravera or Yorkshire Lavender

Using Essential OIls
Essential oils are concentrated and so should be used with some care.
Do not apply neat to the skin.
It is good practice to do an allergy test before you slather on any product containing them.
Do some further research into the oil you plan to use. Some are very strong and need to be used with caution.

Disclaimer
Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
That’s me I mean.

I am telling you of my own experiences for your information only. You should do a lot more research before proceeding. None of the following have been tested on anyone other than me. All I can say Is that I have used essential oils for a long time with, as yet, no ill effects…..

Scented Oils & Creams

Most essential oil/ aromatherapy sites say that mixes of essential oil to base oil should not exceed 5%.
A good rule of thumb when seeking to make a 2% dilution is to add 12 drops of essential oil to each fl. ounce (30 ml) of cold pressed carrier oil, lotion, vegetable butter or other natural lipid/moisturizer.
There is a useful dilutions chart here

And then there is this:
For adults:
Sensitive skin: .5 to 1 percent dilution = 3 to 6 drops per ounce
Normal, healthy skin: 1 to 2.5 percent dilution = 6 to 15 drops per ounce
There is lots of useful information here

We Made

We use Citronella to make mosquito repellent. Read how HERE
We use in Eucalyptus Oil in these refillable inhalers. Find out more HERE

See a full range of homemade #plasticfree personal care products here
And find out how to make lots more stuff HERE
Find all plastic free personal care products here…

Ingredients

An introduction to some of the stuff you need to make the above

Jars & Pots

28 May 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.2.4 make 2 Comments

After you have made your own home- made creams and lotions you need to store them in something. If you have
nothing else, you can use your PLA deli pots – they seem to last just fine, and then you can compost them.

Old glass jam jars are fine for storing the excess but you want to think twice before using glass in the bathroom what the hard tiles, slippery hands, bare feet and shattering potential.

Nope this is a case for an unbreakable product. Plastic bottles are good in the bathroom. You can see what you have and they are totally safe. The greenest way is to reuse the pots and bottles you already have – my old shampoo bottle is still going after 5 years of refills

Pretty Bottles

But when it comes to bottles that can be seen, I am shallow and I like the bathroom to look good. So I recycled all my old bottles and bought some funky plastic that look nice. Also some rather swish aluminium bottles. Please note – all the suppliers I use line their products with a resin ( plastic) liner.

In the boudoir (a marginally less dangerous environment), you can use glass, by far the nicest product. Once again the uber green amongst can reuse jam jars however I went out and bought simple glass jars which I matched with aluminium lids.

Closures
You can get all sorts of closures for bottles from simple screw caps to flip lids, pumps and sprays. It really depends on the nature of your product. You can get plastic lids but I use aluminium caps and lids because they look the best and can be easily recycledt.

Please note that all closures almost always have a small plasticised paper disc inside.

I have been using my bottles jars and lids for years now and they are still looking good and working well.

Buy

You can buy all the above from naturally thinking

Labelling

Believe me you will forget what is in your bottles and you will have to label them. You can write on the bottle with a waterproof pen though in my experience the writing does eventually wash off. You can buy plastic labels from the supplier below for a very reasonable rate. Apparently they last for five years so you might think that this is fair trade off. Or you can use wooden or aluminium labels ( try garden stores or craft stores), or even cardboard tags and tie them onto your bottles.

For more on home made beauty products check out keep pretty plastic free

Hydrogen Peroxide

22 May 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1.7 Health, 3.2.4 make, 4 About The Alternatives, 4 raw materials

Bought a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from Big C Supermarket in Thailand. The bottle is glass the cap is metal. Plastic free you might think? well, apart from the plastic lid liner and plasticised paper label. However it is massively plastic reduced. You can also buy it Boots in a plastic bottle.

It is my choice of antiseptic for my travel medical kit. I use it to clean cuts and grazes.

But, as I hardly ever cut myself I also use it as mouth wash to help whiten the teeth. But only occasionally because there are lots of conflicting reports on the healthiness of such activities. This is a useful read

Mouthwash Mix: 1 part hydrogen peroxide mixed with 1 part water. Rinse mouth, then spit out. Discard and left over solution or use it as extra solution.

For another great mouthwash recipe try this blog

or this one for lots more

And don’t stop at the mouthwash, there are lots of wonderful sounding things in there.

Bleach Hair

Use a 3% solution to bleach your hair

Ear Wax

Soften and loosen the earwax with warm mineral oil or a mixture of hydrogen peroxide mixed with an equal amount of room-temperature water. Place 2 drops of the fluid, warmed to body temperature, in the ear twice a day for up to 5 days. Be sure to warm the fluid because cold fluid can cause pain and dizziness. Web MD

And there are lots more things you can with hydrogen peroxide here.


Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide 3% – 500ml £13.45	Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide 3% – 500ml £13.45

You can buy Hydrogen Peroxide on line from Amazon and other places. You can find more online products and read our Amazon policy here,

NB may come in a plastic bottle – you will have to decide if this represents a plastic free saving. I think so because I get to do so much with it.

Other plastic free beauty products can be found right here.

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the travel category

Cream in Bangkok

16 May 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 6 archive Tagged 3.2.4 make 1 Comment

I don’t know what you do in a downtown hotel room in Bangkok but I make body lotion. I have been making my own creams and lotions successfully at home for ages now but since then of course I have packed my bags to travel the world. Obviously I don’t want to go back to using plastic packed cosmetics but carrying a years supply of creams and lotions was not an option. So I thought why not continue to make my own creams WHILE back packing.

As I am sure you know, cream, body lotion and the like is basically water and oil mixed together in varying quantities. The more oil the richer the cream. As water and fat do not naturally mix you need to use an emulsifier.

The process is simple – mix the oils and emulsifier and heat to a certain temperature. Heat the water to a certain temperature. Mix the two together to make cream.

So before I left I weighed out, mixed up and melted together a batch of oils and emulsifiers. I used hard oils like Shea so the end mix set firm – think butter in the fridge consistency. I planned to add the water at a later stage.
So when my body lotion ran out in Thailand it was time to see if my cunning stunt was going to work.
I set out my equipment.

Tiffin Tin 2
Metal cup
Heating element I had brought along to make tea (and cream) with.

Shea butter emulsifying oil mix
Let the show begin.
I put a dollop of the oil/emulsifying mix in the metal cup and some water in the tiffin tin.
I clipped the tin cup to the side of the tiffin tin with my tweezers.
I heated the water in the tiffin tin with the element.

When I thought everything was hot enough I added some of the water to the melted oils and mixed vigorously.

Not a complete success. The oil and water did emulsify but didn’t thicken quite as much as I had hoped. I had created a kind of sloppy lotion rather than a cream but it was good enough for moisturising.

I refilled my plastic bottle and went on my merry moisturised way.
Lots more information about my cream making exploits can be found on the following pages

Lots more information about my cream making exploits can be found on the following pages

All cream index

How do you make cosmetic creams and lotions the basics

The Aromantics cream making starter pack some more details

Home made sun tan lotion

Home made fake tan

Other plastic free beauty products can be found right here

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the travel category

Stay at home type? Check out my range of U.K based plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Trimmings & Fixings

6 August 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.2.4 make 1 Comment

Zips & Fastenings

Metal trouser hooks and eyes can be bought loose from trimmings shops on Leeds Kirkgate Market, Covered Market City Center
Huge press studs on cardboard backing Leeds Kirkgate Market, Covered Market City Center.

Ribbons Lace

You can get organic 100 % cotton lace here

And more here https://jamestailoring.co.uk/product-category/haberdashery/lace/

FINE FRENCH COTTON LACE BORDER

ID: 12244Fine French Cotton Lace Border. Width 60mm. 90% Cotton/10% Polyamide. https://www.macculloch-wallis.co.uk/p/12244/cotton-lace-trims/mw/fine-french-cotton-lace-border

And lace like this guipure style lace trim 100% certified organic cotton https://www.embroidered-lace.com/sale-10515379-embroidered-guipure-venice-lace-trims-organic-cotton-lace-trimming-for-chemises.html

Lancaster & Cornish Ribbons like this…. This bias cut feather weight habotai silk is super soft and drapy. The silk is dyed with natural plant dyes in our Cornwall studio.

Or real silk ribbons hand hand died in Scotland using natural dies made from plants grown in the garden WANT SOME!!!!!! Not bought any myself but I bet you could get them in plastic free packaging if you asked. They seems a very nice business.

A bit from the website

I have started to produce hand dyed ribbon using the plants and flowers grown at Mill Pond Flower Farm. We are very fortunate in having a wide variety of mostly native trees and plants with the addition of flowers grown for sale. This gives a great store of material that can be used in dying fabrics and can give a range of colours. The effect of using natural dyes is to give a softness and depth of colour that changes with the light, blending effortlessly with other fabrics and hues.

Buy here

On Amazon – you can see a selection here

Find lots more plastic free sewing aids and fabrics HERE

See The clothes I have made here

Menstrual Pads – sanitary towels

6 January 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1.2 reusables, 3.2.4 make, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

There is no doubt that sanitory towels are plastic heavy. Yes you knew they came packed in plastic but did you know they were made of plastic? About 90% of the materials used to make sanitary pads and liners are plastic and include polyethylene, polypropylene and polyacrylate super absorbents. You can read more here

On the other hand reusable, washable sanitary towels might sound icky. Wait! For a great write up (actually a series of great write-ups) on a range of towels read Lucy Stableford-Grieve over at the the wonderful Pie Patch blog. The info is under Muff Fluff – love it.

Now as she helpfully pointed out (and I completely forgot to mention), “not all cloth pads are plastic free. You’d have to go for all natural fabrics.

A crucial part in the construction of cloth pads is a moisture resistant backing material to avoid bleeding straight through it. The vast majority of cloth pads use synthetic fleece or waterproof PUL for this. There are a few makers who offer wool interlock as a backing option (Mama Kloth or Honour Your Flow are two, I believe).

Then there are the top & core fabrics. Plush/minky is a popular top fabric because of its wicking properties but it is entirely synthetic. I have cotton, cotton jersey, bamboo velour, & cotton velour in my stash. You’d have to go for organic cotton to be sure of avoiding plastic entirely.

BUT overall I am happy to compromise on this because eliminating disposables in itself makes such a huge difference to my household waste. And cloth pads can last many, many years before they come to the end of their life. But if you want to be truly plastic-free it’s worth considering.”

Buy

I have never used these pads (being more than happy with my Mooncup), so cannot give a personal recommendations. Though I know people who rave about them. Sadly no one who can be bothered writing me a guest post. And yes I will try guilt tripping. In the mean time if anyone else out there feels fancy guest posting?

I can send you back to Piepatch and Lucy Stableford-Grieve who seems to have spent her life in the saddle and reiewed almost every pad available! You may want to read her reviews before committing to buy.

Here is and example of a ready made pad made in England with a review by Eco Fluffy Mama

Crimson Moon Reusable Menstrual Pads

Make

Or the ubergreen who are handy with the needle canmake their own. You can find a pattern for home made sanitary towels with lots of useful info here and there are lots more on Pinterest

You can find more plastic free sanitary products here including the internal menstrual cup and some plastic free tampons.

Toner – skin

5 December 2009 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1.7 Clean-tone-cream, 3.2.4 make, 3.2.4 make makeup

I have long had the complexion of a teenager – all spots and grease. While in India this situation got a whole lot worse. In desperation I made myself a face wash out of apple cider vinegar. I normally use this to make a conditioning rinse for my hair so I figured that’s what’s good for the clogged up hair might work for the blogged pores. It works – it really does.

Here’s my recipe

2 parts Apple Vinegar

3 parts water

1 drop of lavender oil for every 2 ml water

Shake well before use.

Hair Gel and hairspray

14 August 2009 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1.7 Personal hair care, 3.2.4 make, 3.2.4 make makeup 2 Comments

I got these from green ladies blog

I haven’t tried them because I have no use for such things but I am ever thinking of you more glamorous types and your plastic free needs.

Homemade Hair Gel

By: Michigan State University

The Ingredients

* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

* 1 cup warm water

The Instructions

Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup warm water. Keep refrigerated and use as you would a purchased gel.

NB I have bought gelatin in paper sachets in the past but it is not a product I use often. Would appreciate any up to date info on this…

Planet Safer Hairspray Recipe

Chop up a lemon or an orange and boil it on the stove in a couple of cups of water. Boil it down about halfway and then strain out any pulp and mix it in a spray bottle with about an eighth of a cup (1/8: that’s half of a 1/4 cup measure, if it makes it easier) of rubbing alcohol.

If you keep it in the fridge it will stay “good” longer – between 2-3 weeks.

Find more plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Toothpaste, toothpowder, dentifrice homemade

22 July 2009 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.1 Bicarb, 3.1.7 dental care, 3.1.7 Health, 3.2.4 make, 3.2.4 make makeup, 5 Content Veiw 2 Comments

Dentifrice – toothpaste or toothpowder whichever, it is basically an abrasive to clean and polish the teeth. Most brands come packed in masses of plastic. Plastic which cannot be recycled. Or rather it probably can be as most plastics technically can be recycled, but is far too difficult and costly to do so.
Which is bad BUT worse still the paste itself may contain plastic! Did you know that at least 12 Crest toothpastes have been identified as containing microbeads of polyethylene (PE). You can find a full list here And Crest are by no means the only manufacturer who does this.

There there’s all the other stuff. “Every toothpaste contains the following ingredients: binders, abrasives, sudsers, humectants, flavors (unique additives), sweeteners, fluorides, tooth whiteners, a preservative, and water. Binders thicken toothpastes. Some binders are karaya gum, bentonite, sodium alginate, methylcellulose, carrageenan, and magnesium aluminum silicate.
Read more about toothpaste and how it is made here.

VERY IMPORTANT

What with the sudsing agents and binders you might be tempted to make your own toothpaste. It’s very easy but there are some important issues you need to be aware of.
The abrasivity of your home made paste
That it will not contain flouride.

Please Note

The following information is for guidance only. None of the following recipes or tips have not been tested on anyone other than me. I strongly advise you do your own research and proceed very carefully. These are your teeth!

Disclaimer
Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
That’s me I mean.

Research well and discuss everything with your dentist.

Abrasivity

The key to making tooth powder is to find something abrasive and ugh to remove the plaque but not so harsh it removes the enamel from your teeth. Which is why you need to research carefully and take internet claims with a huge pinch of salt.
Relative dentin abrasivity (RDA) is a a way of measuring the effect that the abrasive components of the toothpaste have on a tooth.[7]
The RDA scale was developed by the American Dental Association The higher the abrasive value the greater the wear on the enamal. Toothpaste makers regularly measure their product’s abrasivity. It’s necessary for FDA approval,
BY US law, a dentifrice is required to have a level lower than 250 to be considered safe .
RDA Score
Level
0-70 Low abrasive: safe for cementum, dentin and enamel
70-100 Medium abrasive: safe for enamel, dangerous for cementum and dentin
100-150 High abrasive: dangerous for cementum, dentin and enamel
150-250 Very high abrasive: harmful limit, damaging for teeth
250 and above Not recommended.

Some findings
4 brushing teeth with water
7 baking soda

Commerical pastes from 8 to 200 Colgate 2-in-1 Tartar Control / White

can find a full list here

Stuff I have used to clean my teeth

Salt
Bicarbonate of soda
Chalk – Calcium carbonate
Kaolin
Bentonite

Salt and Bicarbonate of soda can be used neat. And as you can see bicarbonate has a very low RDA score

The rest have to be mixed because they have different abrasive qualities.

My home-made toothpowder contains chalk kaolin and bentonite clay. Sadly there are no RDA scores that i can find for any of these abrasives. The following is what I have gleaned from the internet. Please do your own research.

Chalk is the hardest and so most abrasive element. Chalk is often in commercial toothpaste but not as often as silica. When comparing the two it seem that depending on particle size…
A comparison between different abrasives with similar particle sizes showed that silica presents higher RDA values than calcium carbonate. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11413496

Aromantics reccomend Use up to 40% in Toothpastes

That kaolin and Bentinite are both very soft,and have a positive score on the cleaning efficiency index.

The Cleaning Efficiency Index’ (CEI)
This is a very interesting article but sadly I can find no links to original research. Google hasn’t come up with anything either.
Researchers studying stains, abrasivity, and cleaning ability found that a relationship exists between the relative abrasivity and the cleaning ability. They came up with what they call ‘Cleaning Efficiency Index’ (CEI).

The Cleaning Efficiency Index really ranks the combination of abrasivity in relation to cleaning ability.
low abrasive AND low cleaning ability. Not good = low efficiency score
high abrasive AND high cleaning ability. Not good either = low efficiency score
low abrasive AND high cleaning ability. Very good. This combination would give the highest ‘cleaning efficiency’ index score.
Read the full article HERE

And then there is this about Bentonite.
“The real benefit of bentonite clay is that it is abrasive enough to remove the plaque but not so much so that it will do damage to your enamel,” Graves says. Like charcoal, it may also help raise the pH of your mouth, making it more challenging for bacteria to grow.” Read the article HERE

The following is an account of my own experiences which may help you in your own research.

Home Made Dentifrice

Salt Ughhh you buy plastic free salt here.
Bicarbonate of soda can be used neat. Also ugh!!!
“Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), a product used for many years by itself or in combination with other ingredients has several excellent properties. As a soft crystalline substance that dissolves readily, it has a mild abrasive potential. In solution it will kill on contact all of the motile microorganisms associated with periodontal infections, e.g. spirochetes, motile rods, etc. It will also kill other disease related bacteria. It will also neutralize and detoxify the bacterial acids and toxins that form in plaques (bacterial biofilms). ” for more got to mizar

And of course it has a very low RDA of 7.
You can read more and find out where to buy plastic free bicarb HERE
BUT for all its sterling qualities, I find bicarbonate far too soapy tasting to use un-cut. Knowing how it is made I am not sure I want to put it in my mouth

My Home Made Toothpowder

1 part chalk NB Chalk This is pharmaceutical grade not the rough old stuff they use in fish tanks.
1 part kaolin
1 part bentonite clay. Yes I am literally cleaning my teeth with earth and it doe feel gritty.

I like this one but the bentonite does feel gritty in your mouth. The paste however has no taste which is nice. After the salt and the bicarb.
Put in a jar and shake well – use as tooth powder or mix to a stiff paste with water. You can add flavour with peppermint oil.
It is just like real toothpaste. Even leaves white marks on your clothes!

Paste with Bi-carb
I used to use bicarb in one of my early toothpaste recipes mixed with two dentifrices and Orris Root. Orris root is a natural preservative and helps the flavor along.
1 part chalk
1 part kaolin
1 part Orris Root
1 part bicarb

Put in a jar and shake well – use as tooth powder or mix to a stiff paste with water. Though it worked I wasn’t really happy with the taste and orris root is very expensive.

Buy

Buy plastic free bicarb HERE

Chalk -Buy pharmaceutical grade not the rough old stuff they use in fish tanks.
You can buy the chalk, kaolin and Orris Root from EBay or Aromantics . The products come in a plastic bags – booo… but they are polythene so easily recycled and I get huge amounts tooth powder out of one small bag of ingredients. I consider it a worthwhile compromise and far less plastic than any other option.

buy ready made dentifrice

More info

If you want a better informed opinion I suggest you head on over to the Aromantics website. . They will sell you everything you need to make toothpaste including recipes you can download as a PDF. They have been in this game for years and are far more qualified then I am.

Do You Even Need Dentifrice

You might want to consider if you even need to use a dentifrice. According to many a good brushing will do the job just as well…

“You can remove food debris and plaque from your teeth without using toothpaste.
Dental plaque is a sticky, colorless biofilm of bacteria and sugars that is constantly in the process of forming on our teeth. Dental plaque is acidic, and can break down tooth enamel and cause cavities to form. Plaque can also irritate your gums, causing gingivitis (red, swollen, bleeding gums), infections and eventually tooth loss.
Plaque is the primary cause of cavities and gum disease. If you don’t consistently remove plaque from your teeth it can harden into an even sticker substance called tartar, which provides a perfect environment for bacteria colonies to grow under your gums and on your teeth.
One of the best ways to control plaque is brushing your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day. But you don’t need toothpaste to do this, just a soft toothbrush and good brushing techniques will remove plaque.

What, No Flouride?

You must consider this
Of course home made toothpaste or a no toothpaste regime will mean a cut in fluoride.
“Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral which helps to prevent tooth decay.
Which is why it’s added to many brands of toothpaste.
“Brushing your teeth thoroughly with fluoride toothpaste is one of the most effective ways of preventing tooth decay.” Read about fluoride and the NHS here.
And this Article is also USEFUL.

The most effective ways to avoid tooth decay are avoid sugar and good brushing. But flouride also helps.
In the UK fluoride is added to some tap water. Contact your water authority to find out if yours is.
You can also buy fluoride tablets and mouth washes.
It is also present in tea and the NHS reccomended you limit your intake to 3 mugs a day.
This was a study of fluoride levels in 38 teas, mainly bought from UK supermarkets. The authors point out that fluoride is an essential micronutrient, needed to prevent dental decay and promote healthy bone growth. However, consumed in excess it can lead to a condition called fluorosis, which can damage both teeth and bones.
Flouride can be poisonous even kill if consumed in large amounts.
Flouride powder can be bought on Amazon. Where I also saw this
Question: Can I add this to homemade toothpaste?
Answer: Yes, many folks add this to their toothpaste formulas, typically in commercial toothpastes there is a concentration (by weight) of 1 – 1.5%
By Professor Fullwood SELLER on February 7, 2016

No comment your call.

Brushes

While the RDA score has been shown to have a statistically significant correlation to the presence of abrasion, it is not the only contributing factor to consider.[19][9][22] Other factors such as the amount of pressure used whilst brushing, the type, thickness and dispersion of bristle in the toothbrush and the time spent brushing are other factors that contribute to dental abrasion.

See all our posts on plasticfree dental care, HERE.

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Closures You can get all sorts of closures for bottles from simple screw caps to flip lids, pumps and sprays. It really depends on the nature of your product. You can get plastic lids but I use aluminium caps and lids because they look the best and can be easily recycledt.

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Abrasivity

Stuff I have used to clean my teeth

Home Made Dentifrice

My Home Made Toothpowder

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Do You Even Need Dentifrice

What, No Flouride?

Brushes

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Closures
You can get all sorts of closures for bottles from simple screw caps to flip lids, pumps and sprays. It really depends on the nature of your product. You can get plastic lids but I use aluminium caps and lids because they look the best and can be easily recycledt.