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Is Dental Floss Vegan?

22K views 42 replies 25 participants last post by  jxavier 
#1 ·
Is it?
 
#19 ·
EcoDent brand GentleFloss is vegan waxed with no plastic packaging that printed with soy inks, cruelty free, and recyclable container. As many as 700 million plastic floss containers are discarded each year! As much as 9 million pounds of non-renewable, non-recyclable floss containersnot to mention the wasteful secondary packaging, like boxes, and blister-cardsend up in our already over-crowded landfills each year. Only Ecodent Gentle Floss offers you an alternative to this incredible package waste.

I have used it for years it works great and has nice natural ingredients.
 
#20 ·
According to Leigh at Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe, she will not carry the product.

If you think about it, the label is misleading, as in the wax is vegan, but not the floss itself. According to the information I've been given, at least one of the added enzymes is dairy-derived.

BTW, I found this out after recommending it during a recent podcast, so I'm feeling a bit duped myself.
 
#21 ·
The package states that the floss is "vegan waxed". I have been told by the company that the lactoferrin which is an ingredient in the floss, is derived from colostrum, a bovine dairy product. The EcoDent representative told me that "Materials such as Lactoferrin, are so thoroughly filtered and purified that dairy antigens are essentially eliminated."

and that, unfortunately, is not vegan enough for Cosmo's to carry it. I feel the term "vegan waxed" is misleading.
 
#26 ·
Here was their response to my email:

Thank you for your interest in Eco-Dent products. Lotus Brands purchased this product line from the former owners in July 2005. Prior to that time, we asked the question about the vegan status of the floss because of the inclusion of the enzyme system. We were assured by the prior ownership that they had verified that the enzyme system had been checked out by one or more of the major over-sight organizations and found suitable for vegans because it does not actually include any dairy in and of itself.

Enzymes are independent of the SUBSTRATE or BASIS upon which they are grown. Once they are grown, they are extracted from the substrate.

In the interest of full disclosure, the product has always included a complete description of the SUBSTRATE within which the enzymes are grown and from which they are extracted, so that people may make informed decisions. While we believe that the extracted enzymes do not constitute an issue, clearly there are others who may be concerned and for which we have thereby made the substrate disclosure.

There is no actual lactoferrin added into this product. This forms part of the dairy substrate or solution upon which the enzymes are grown. Once extracted, any residues would be de minimus.

The enzyme system is included due to its real potential benefit for the health of teeth and gums and at this point in time, there is no plan to remove the enzyme system.

I hope this helps you in your decision. We appreciate and support the vegan community and have always believed in full disclosure and informed choice.

Please let me know if I may be of further service.
 
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