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Chewing gum: We munch on it to freshen our breath, to cut back boredom, or cut back cravings. Whether you’re a gum-snapper, a bubble-blower, or a extra reserved gum-chewer, you’re in all probability chewing on a fabric that’s polluting our landscapes and waterways. That’s proper, most chewing gum contains plastic.
People have been chewing on stuff for 1000’s of years. History.com tells us that folks from northern Europe munched on birch bark tar. The Mayans chewed on chicle, a fabric extracted from the sapodilla tree. Native Americans — and later, European settlers — chewed on spruce tree resin. These have been all naturally chewy issues from natural origins.
In the U.S., chicle-based chewing gum was popularized within the late 1800s however by the Nineteen Forties, chicle was largely replaced by synthetics. Today, many of the gum in the marketplace will get its elasticity and chewy-ness from plastics. Sometimes the plastic base is polyethylene, the plastic used to make most pliable baggage. Another plastic utilized in gum is polyisobutylene, which is used to make internal tubes. The “ick” issue apart, for those who’re making an attempt to eliminate single-use plastics out of your life, check out chewing gum.
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Not All Gum Contains Plastic
Fortunately, there are plastic-free options, though you may not discover them in your native grocery store. Some of those manufacturers are somewhat obscure and also you’ll have to put an order immediately from their web sites. Others you may discover domestically and several other manufacturers can be found on Amazon.
Most plastic-free gum manufacturers state that their gum base incorporates chicle — the chewy stuff that Mayans chewed on years in the past. In addition, most of the plastic-free manufacturers we discovered sweeten the gum with xylitol, a natural sweetener that fights cavities, derived from the bark of birch and beech timber. These manufacturers additionally could state that their gum is biodegradable, kosher, plant-based, GMO-free, vegan, and even palm-oil-free. Quite a lot of the components are comparable amongst these pure chewing gum manufacturers, however all of them declare to be freed from plastic.
Plastic-free Gum Options
Chicza is an organization with one focus: pure, plastic-free chewing gum. What units the model aside is that every one its components are natural and product of 100% chicle, sustainably harvested from rainforests. It claims that the opposite pure gum manufacturers don’t use solely chicle of their gum base. It’s accessible in mint, cinnamon, and blended berry flavors. BUY Chicza gum on Amazon
Woman-founded Simply makes a wide range of pure candies in addition to plastic-free gum made with a chicle gum base. Made in the united statesA., Simply gum is sweetened with natural sugar cane and is available in distinctive flavors together with maple, espresso, fennel, pumpkin spice, and one taste that’s a mixture of grapefruit, prickly pear, cayenne, and sea salt. BUY Simply gum on Amazon
Glee Gum is made with sustainably harvested rainforest chicle and packaged in recyclable supplies. Non-GMO cane sugar and brown rice syrup sweeten basic Glee Gum; the sugar-free model is sweetened with xylitol. Glee is extra extensively distributed all through the U.S. than some plastic-free gum manufacturers, so that you may discover it in a neighborhood grocery retailer. BUY Glee Gum on Amazon
The Humble Co. is a Swedish-based firm based by dentists working towards plastic waste and serving to lower-income communities with dental well being. In addition to dental-care merchandise reminiscent of toothpaste and floss, it sells xylitol-sweetened gum in mint, tropical fruit, and berry flavors. The components don’t record the supply of its “pure gum base,” however the web site says it “comes from timber.” BUY The Humble Co. gum on Amazon
The first pure gum firm within the U.Okay., Chewsy gum is one more chicle-based, plastic-free chewing gum. The gum is sugar-free, naturally sweetened with xylitol, and is available in peppermint, cinnamon, spearmint, and lemon flavors. BUY Chewsy on Amazon
More Plastic-free Gum Brands
- Milliways is a London-based firm that makes chicle-based gum in flavors reminiscent of mint, bubble mint, and watermelon. Its packaging can be plastic-free.
- The woman-owned model Oh My Gum! makes use of chicle within the gum base and in addition makes use of plastic-free recyclable cardboard in its packaging. It’s accessible within the U.Okay. in addition to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Austria.
- Nuud is predicated within the U.Okay. and, like Oh My Gum, doesn’t use any plastic in its packaging. Like the opposite manufacturers, its “pure gum base” includes chicle.
- Based in Copenhagen, True Gum chicle-based gum is available in fascinating flavors like Raspberry & Vanilla, Ginger & Tumeric, and Liquorice & Eucalyptus.
Let Companies Hear Your Voice
These are only a few of the plastic-free gum manufacturers on the market. As extra shoppers request plastic-free gum, producers will reply with extra choices. Our buying habits are a good way to affect companies, so purchase gum that aligns along with your values. If there’s a gum model you’ve stopped shopping for as a result of it doesn’t provide a plastic-free choice, let the corporate know why you’ve stopped shopping for its product.
Plastic air pollution is a worldwide disaster. As extra of us work in the direction of eliminating plastic from our lives, avoiding plastic chewing gum is a simple change to make. Who desires to chew on plastic anyway?
