Top Eco-Friendly Dental Floss Options
Flossing is an important part of every dental care routine, but traditional dental floss has numerous environmental and health concerns. Fortunately, you’ll find several eco-friendly dental floss options that will make taking care of your teeth more sustainable.
Interested in the convenience of on-the-go teeth cleaning without all the plastic waste? Be sure to check out our post on the best biodegradable dental floss picks.
Also, if you’re trying to make your dental care routine more eco-friendly, learn more about the benefits of a bamboo toothbrush and find out which one will perfectly suit your needs, or pick up one of these best eco-friendly electric toothbrushes. You can then find the best zero waste toothpaste options for everyone in the family.
These eco-friendly dental floss options, bamboo toothbrushes, and zero waste toothpastes are all important ways to help you create a zero waste bathroom.
What’s Wrong With Traditional Floss?
Traditional dental floss is typically made with nylon, which is a type of plastic. Not only can’t you recycle nylon, but it also takes hundreds of years to biodegrade.
However, being made with plastic isn’t the only problem with traditional dental floss.
Traditional dental floss is also coated in chemicals to make it easier to slide between teeth. Unfortunately, studies have found that some brands of dental floss have high levels of a chemical called perfuoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.
PFAS has been linked to serious health issues that include certain types of cancers, fertility issues, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, and weight gain.
The Best Eco-Friendly Dental Floss
So now you know that traditional dental floss might actually be doing more harm than good. Does that mean you should just stop flossing altogether?
Of course not! Flossing is still an important part of a good oral care routine. And I don’t want your dentist tracking me down and throwing toothbrushes at me because you told him or her I said stop flossing.
Instead, you just need to make the switch to one of these best eco-friendly dental floss options.
1. Etee
Etee is on a mission to help you reduce your plastic use in every area of your life. One simple way you can do this is by making the switch to Etee Gently Minted Waxed Silk Dental Floss.
We’ve used this eco-friendly floss in our bathroom, and we love the strength, thickness, and texture it has. Each spool is made with 100% pure mulberry silk. It’s then coated with candelilla wax for a gentle glide and natural peppermint oil for a fresh feeling.
The biodegradable floss comes with a glass container that has a stainless steel lid with a floss cutter. When you run out, you can simply order the two refill floss spools for absolutely no waste.
Feel like you’re a little too accident prone for a glass container? No problem! You can also choose to get your floss in a stainless container. Much safer for busy bathrooms and traveling!
The best part is that Etee itself is a company committed to saying goodbye to plastic. That means they ship everything using plastic-free and biodegradable packaging!
Related: The Best Zero Waste Makeup Brands
2. Lucky Teeth
If you’re vegan, silk dental floss is a no-go for you. Fortunately, you have another option. Lucky Teeth makes a bamboo fiber floss that’s both vegan and biodegradable.
The company says this plastic-free floss breaks down in around 60 to 90 days. It has activated charcoal for extra cleaning and whitening. It also contains organic tea tree oil and organic peppermint essential oil to help kill bacteria.
To help cut down on waste, the eco-friendly dental floss comes in a glass jar and recyclable paper box. When you finish a roll, the two-pack refill comes in a recyclable paper box and fits in the glass jar.
Related: The Best Natural Mouthwash
3. Terra & Co.
Another outstanding vegan option for eco-friendly dental floss is this biodegradable dental floss from Terra & Co. It’s made with bamboo fiber to help remove buildup between teeth.
It also contains vegan candelilla wax to make it easier for the floss to slide between your teeth, activated charcoal that can help whiten your teeth, and coconut oil, peppermint essential oil, and spearmint essential oil to give it a great taste.
Best of all, this dental floss comes from one of the best zero waste online stores. This means the store is committed to zero waste shipping and plastic free packaging, so you know your eco-friendly dental floss is completely sustainable.
4. EcoRoots Vegan Floss

Like the idea of vegan floss but not sure about bamboo fiber? Then you’ll love this EcoRoots vegan floss that’s made from corn.
The biodegradable floss is coated with plant-based candelilla wax to help it smoothly glide between your teeth. It also includes a hint of organic tea tree and mint essential oils to soothe your gums and freshen your breath.
Since the cruelty-free floss comes in a lovely, refillable glass bottle with a recyclable metal lid, you can simply get the eco-friendly floss refill pack and keep reusing the dispenser. No fuss, no waste!
5. Wowe
Wowe dental floss has a 100% biodegradable floss that’s made from sustainably harvested silk. The floss is coated in natural candelilla wax to glide easily between teeth. It’s also coated in natural mint to help freshen your breath.
The biodegradable floss comes in a reusable stainless steel container with a built-in floss cutter. When it’s time for more floss, you can get these pack of 5 plastic-free dental floss refills.
Related: 50+ Genius Alternatives to Plastic
6. Dental Lace
Dental Lace is a zero waste floss that’s made using silk and candelilla wax, so you can compost it. It also comes with a pleasant mint flavor for a fresher clean feeling.
The eco-friendly dental floss comes in a glass container with a metal lid that you can recycle. However, you can also save the jar and simply get the Dental Lace refills to help cut down on waste even more.
7. RADIUS
RADIUS makes biodegradable dental floss from natural silk. It’s spun in candelilla plant wax to help it glide smoothly between your teeth.
The company doesn’t use any preservatives, unnatural coloring, parabens, phthalates, or other harmful additives in the floss. Plus, since it’s silk, you can compost it when you’re done using it.
I do have to mention that this floss does come in a plastic container, so it’s not entirely zero waste.
8. Georganics
Georganics makes it easy to switch to sustainable dental floss. The eco-friendly floss is made using natural silk, waxes, and flavorings. The biodegradable silk floss uses a certified cruelty free formula that’s also free from phthalates and sulfates.
The floss comes in a reusable glass dispenser, which means all you have to do is purchase this set of two refill for a zero waste oral care routine.
If you decide to get Georganics zero waste dental floss from EarthHero, be sure to use the code EARTHFRIENDLY to take 10% off your order!
Related: Best Bamboo Electric Toothbrush Replacement Head
9. TreeBird
TreeBird is another company that shows how easy it is to reduce waste when you’re flossing. With TreeBird, you get one glass bottle floss holder and one spool of 100% silk floss that’s coated in candelilla wax and has a fresh mint flavor.
When you’re done with that floss, you can purchase one of the TreeBird dental floss refills and simply reuse the container.
Plus, to help reduce waste, the company’s packaging consists of kraft paper and compostable stickers printed with soybean ink that can go straight into your compost pile.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About How to Compost
Bonus Option
While I know this next option isn’t dental floss, I still wanted to mention it because it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking to go as zero waste as possible during your oral care routine.
While the above eco-friendly dental floss options try to eliminate excess plastic and waste as much as possible, they do still have trace amounts. However, if you really want to go zero waste, consider an oral irrigator, sometimes also called a dental water jet or Waterpik.
Waterpik Water Flosser
A Waterpik uses a stream of pulsating water to remove food debris and plaque from between the teeth and below the gum line just like floss.
This Waterpik Water Flosser is a great option for a zero waste oral care routine because you don’t have to buy refills like you do with dental floss. Instead, when the reservoir is empty, you simply fill it back up with water.
I added the Waterpik Water Flosser to my oral care routine upon the recommendation of my dentist. I like it because it comes with 7 flossing tips, 10 pressure settings, and I only need to use it for one minute every day to get my teeth clean.
Best Eco-Friendly Dental Floss
Traditional dental floss adds unnecessary waste to the environment and has the potential to introduce dangerous chemicals to your body. However, with these eco-friendly dental floss options, you can enjoy a zero waste dental care routine that’s better for the environment and your health.
More Eco-Friendly Tips
Now that you see how easy it is to switch to an eco-friendly dental floss, are you ready to make even more easy swaps to live a more eco-friendly life? Then be sure to check out some of our other popular posts!
- The Best Natural Deodorant
- How to Have an Eco-Friendly Cleaning Routine
- Best Zero Waste Products for Beginners
- Natural Cold Remedies That Actually Work
- What Is Reusable Beeswax Food Wrap?



Robert
Friday 11th of September 2020
Very Helpful and Informative post.
joel b
Saturday 5th of September 2020
dental lace is not great it breaks very easily when flossing which option is both sustainable and strong so that it won't break?
Kristen
Saturday 5th of September 2020
I've had a lot of success using the Etee floss. It doesn't seem to break very easily.
Katharine
Sunday 30th of June 2019
Hey this is an awesome post. Thank you for writing this. It’s encourgaing to see companies move in this ethical and considerate direction. Dental Lace makes an especially considered product and it was particularly awesome for them to swap out for compostible bags and to a vegan wax after customer feedback. Zero-waste also is a nice concept and also an unregulated term. What’s the criteria for when something is considered zero-waste or not? The product itself, or with the packaging? Is it waste if it’s something you would keep for awhile and use and is still contains elements that are toxic to our environment and non-biodegradable long term? It’s a bummer that the Dental Lace label is a plastic sticker. It would be totally cool to see an inventive solution to make it authentically zero-waste like a bamboo container or printing on the glass, or some kind of paper label with non-toxic glue. Cheers to companies who are making the effort to be considerate too of these smallest details.
Kristen
Sunday 30th of June 2019
It is encouraging to see more companies start to focus on sustainable options. I also agree that zero-waste is a difficult term since it's unregulated. I know some companies are trying to ship their dental floss refills with as little plastic as possible, which is a step in the right direction. I'd like to think if we keep pushing these companies to make more sustainable choices, they'll continue to come up with better solutions.
Dennis Leuer
Saturday 29th of June 2019
I just received "eco-friendly" happy teeth floss in an eco-trashing combo envelope of plastic stuck to paper. Brilliant.
Kristen
Sunday 30th of June 2019
I understand. I wish companies would realize that even though they might be making an eco-friendly product, they also need to focus on the packaging they use to send those products.