A recent investigation by the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals has found suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals and environmentally harmful substances in toothpastes. However, the study also highlighted the availability of safer alternatives.

The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals examined 31 toothpastes from Danish stores and online shops. The products were from brands such as Sensodyne, Colgate, Oral-B, Kingfisher and Aquafresh. They scrutinised the ingredient lists of the products and ranked them based on their chemical content. See the full list of products that were scrutinised and their rankings here.

10 of the products received the best ‘A-rating’ because they did not contain potentially harmful chemicals.

However, 5 of the products received the worst ‘C-rating’ due to the presence of potentially harmful chemicals, such as triclosan or certain parabens that are suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals.

16 of the products contained environmentally harmful substances, or the colourant titanium dioxide, which is suspected of damaging genetic material when ingested.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals can interfere with the normal functioning of the hormone system. Some have been linked to health issues such as reproductive issues and certain hormone-related cancers.

These products can add to our overall exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. We are constantly exposed to a complex cocktail of known and suspected harmful chemicals from multiple sources, including air, water, food and consumer products. Current regulations fail to sufficiently protect people and nature from this combined exposure effect. Read more about the mixture effect in our report ‘Chemical Cocktails: The neglected threat of toxic mixtures and how to fix it’.

CHEM Trust is calling for the next round of EU decision-makers to introduce policies that ensure we have toxic-free products and a toxic-free future. Ahead of the upcoming EU elections, we have been reaching out to MEP candidates across the political spectrum to raise awareness of harmful chemicals, and to ask for their support in making a toxic-free future a reality. Read more about our campaign here.

CHEM Trust recommends avoiding toothpaste and other personal care products that contain triclosan, parabens or titanium dioxide, and advises buying products with the EU Ecolabel – products have to meet certain environmental standards to be awarded with this label.

Read more about how to reduce your risk of exposure to harmful chemicals in toiletries, cosmetics and menstrual products on our Reduce Your Risk webpage and in our Instagram post.

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