Parents tend to be grateful when their children receive gifts, but the downside of presents is that sometimes they don’t “fit.”
One parent vented about an otherwise thoughtful gift their child received after they discovered its wasteful nature.
What’s happening?
Reddit’s r/Anticonsumption is, as the name suggests, a forum for “criticizing and discussing consumer culture,” particularly excess consumption.
Recently, a parent shared a thread with a complaint neatly described by its title: “Disposable electronic toothbrush with non-replaceable head.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
The user included a photograph of the toothbrush in question, a Spinbrush adorned with a photograph of Dance Moms personality JoJo Siwa.
“My kid received this electronic rotating toothbrush as a gift,” they began. “The base seems pretty well made and even has a replaceable battery, but the head is non-replaceable.”
Electronic toothbrushes typically have replaceable heads to limit waste, and several Reddit users chimed in to agree with the poster’s frustration.
“Actually crazy. So much more waste than [the] average toothbrush being thrown out and replaced, as batteries and all are just thrown out after a short period of time,” one agreed.
Another user expressed frustration over the levels of unnecessary waste and questioned the business model’s wisdom.
“I don’t understand who comes up with this. How much money does it save to not make the head replaceable? Aren’t you just leaving money on the [table] by not selling replacement heads?” they began, positing that the practice was terrible for customer loyalty.
“And do you not feel shame making plastics and electronics expressly to be thrown in a landfill early, while other devices can be reused for years?” they concluded.
“As a dental hygienist and mom, I hate these. They do NOTHING. They are a waste of plastic and even batteries. Very very very wasteful useless product,” a third lamented.
Why is this important?
As the original poster and user pointed out, the practice was clearly an immense waste of plastic and a potential source of e-waste due to the replaceable batteries.
According to Spinbrush’s website, the brand recommends changing the heads on Spinbrush models every three months — but that’s only possible with “adult” Spinbrushes.
Consequently, a young Spinbrush user would need to discard four entire electric toothbrushes each year to ensure their device functions properly.
Moreover, since Spinbrush models marketed to adults do have replaceable heads, it’s unclear why the option is not available for children’s devices.
Although unnecessary plastic waste is a problem that extends beyond electric toothbrushes, any discarded plastic poses a risk of leaching microplastics into landfills, soil, and the ocean.
Microplastics have been linked to numerous adverse health outcomes, and they’ve proven detrimental to the environment as well.
Is Spinbrush doing anything about this?
In April, Spinbrush shared a post about Earth Day on Facebook and Instagram, highlighting the brand’s sustainability efforts.
In the post’s text, the brand indicated by “choosing Spinbrush,” consumers “can purchase Replacement Heads that save money and plastic.”
However, the brand doesn’t seem to acknowledge that replacement heads aren’t produced for children’s Spinbrush models.
What’s being done about dental hygiene waste more broadly?
Crest and Oral-B offer a recycling program for dental waste, Recycle On Us, but it has brand limitations, and all electric toothbrushes are ineligible for the program.
It’s possible to recycle empty containers for hygiene products, which helps offset the unavoidable plastic waste in your household.
When possible, choosing plastic-free alternatives for everyday items reduces plastic waste and personal exposure to microplastics, as does using less plastic overall.
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