Are you wracked with a guilty conscience every time you bin a disposable toothbrush or yet another disposable plastic toothbrush head? Me too! Which is why I began my search for a more eco-friendly alternative.
After returning my 4th sonic toothbrush from Georganics I was about to give up on my search for an eco-friendly electric toothbrush. That was until I stumbled across Suri. In one last desperate attempt, I bought their electric toothbrush on pre-sale in early 2022.
I have been using it ever since and thankfully it is still working, but I still have to question its eco credentials. So, in this Suri toothbrush review, I am going to give you my honest thoughts on the toothbrush itself and the manufacturing process behind it.
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Are Suri toothbrushes any good?
The Suri toothbrush is a great electric toothbrush, eco-friendly or not. When it comes to cleaning and battery life it stands up against the main competitors like Sonicare. Factor in its somewhat eco-friendly credentials, then you have a toothbrush that is better than the rest.
It is approved by dentists, like Professor Damien Walmsley who said that Suri “Puts sustainability on the same level as oral cleanliness”.
It is still worth taking the eco-friendly claims of any company with a pinch of salt. But as consumers, we can only do so much and by buying from the greenest company there is, we are hopefully working towards more eco-friendly advancements.
For now, I believe the Suri Toothbrush is the best option on the market. Either they’ll make improvements to their existing manufacturing or another company may swoop in and deliver something even more eco-friendly. We shall see! Either way, I’m going to be enjoying using my Suri Toothbrush for as long as it stays working.
- Cost: 7/10
- Effectiveness: 8/10
- Eco-friendly: 7/10
- Quality: 9/10
- Overall: 8/10
Pros
- It cleans exceptionally well
- Great battery life
- Eco-friendly materials
Cons
- Made in China
- Not home compostable
How good is Suri at cleaning?
The Suri Toothbrush cleans exceptionally well. The sonic vibrations are strong and consistent, helping to remove stubborn plaque and food from your gums. It has two cleaning modes, one used for everyday cleaning and the stronger one used for deep cleaning every couple of weeks.
Previous eco-friendly sonic toothbrushes that I owned failed to get as deep a clean as I could achieve with Suri and I would suffer from regular bouts of gingivitis. Since swapping to Suri, my dentist moans at me a whole lot less.
My partner used to own a Sonicare toothbrush and moved over to Suri last year. He believes both are as effective as each other at cleaning.
Moreover, I really enjoy using the tongue cleaner on the back of the Suri toothbrush head. It removes the debris from the top of your tongue, one of the main culprits of bad breath!
How is the battery life?
Most electric toothbrushes are plagued with the same issue, short battery life that gets worse with age. This simply isn’t the case with Suri. I’ve had their toothbrush for over 1.5 years now and the battery consistently lasts for about 45 days. And I haven’t noticed any signs of it worsening.
On top of this, it can be fully charged within 4 hours. 20 hours less than most leading electric toothbrushes. Suri toothbrush truly has a great battery life!
Therefore, you can charge it in between brushes without having to put it back on charge afterwards. Saving you from a small but very real inconvenience.
What is Suri toothbrush made of?
The Suri Toothbrush is made of eco-friendly materials and is plastic-free. The body is made from aluminium, an infinitely recyclable material. The toothbrush heads are made from cornstarch and castor oil bristles, which are recyclable and compostable (when sent to industrial composters).
The body of the toothbrush is also repairable. This means if it breaks you won’t need to throw it out! In comparison, most other electric toothbrushes are made entirely from plastic and can’t be recycled or repaired.
However, you will need to send the toothbrush heads back to Suri for proper disposal. I’ve gone into more detail about this below.
Is Suri toothbrush actually sustainable?
Great question! I don’t think Suri is as sustainable as they make themselves out to be. Whilst their toothbrush is made using plastic-free components, it is still made in China. Plus the components need to be processed in specialist facilities in order to recycle or compost them.
Made in China
As with many electronic devices, especially toothbrushes, Suri is indeed made in China. They don’t necessarily hide this fact, but it is hidden within their FAQs.
As with anything ‘eco-friendly’, you’d hope for there to be less shipping and/or air miles involved in the production of it. However, Suri has stated that until they can create their own more local production facilities, production will need to be done in China.
They work with Climate Partner to offset their carbon usage, but I still believe that their product being made in China makes their offering a lot less ‘eco-friendly’. That being said, as a consumer, you don’t really have many more options than this. All of their main ‘eco-friendly’ competitors, like Georganic and Ordo, also produce their products in China or Hong Kong.
Not home compostable
The Suri toothbrush heads are undeniably more eco-friendly than those of other electric toothbrushes. However, in order for them to be disposed of correctly they need to be sent back to Suri or broken apart at home and sent to industrial composting facilities.
It is easy enough to send these heads back to Suri. Simply store the used heads and send them back using the provided Freepost envelope. However, I can’t help but remain sceptical of this process. I have seen many ‘compostable’ products get thrown straight into the recycling, which means they end up in landfill for years, or into home compost bins where they fail to decompose.
I’d be interested to know how many of their heads actually get sent back to them for proper disposal. I can’t imagine it is anywhere near 100%. And if I’m right, are they doing anything about it? For example, creating extra incentives for customers to return their used heads, or working on a home compostable alternative.
Where can you buy a Suri Toothbrush?
At this current moment, you can buy your Suri Toothbrush either directly from Suri’s website or from Amazon. The price is the same and the shipping is free from both outlets. The main difference is that you can split your payments across 4 months when buying from Suri.
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