Are Dr. Bronner's products biodegradable?Updated 9 months ago

Our Pure-Castile Liquid Soaps, Pure-Castile Bar Soaps, Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner, Organic Hair Crème, Organic Shaving Soap, and Organic Sugar Soaps are classified as “readily biodegradable” under the stringent testing conditions of OECD Guideline 310. In the lab, this means these products, not including the packaging, demonstrated more than 60% biodegradation after 28 days. These criteria are so strict that it is reasonable to assume that these products would completely biodegrade within two months in aerobic water with minimal impact on the environment.

It’s useful to think of biodegradation as a process rather than a result—it is the decomposition of a substance when microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi consume it. Many of the techniques and measures for biodegradation come from the waste management industry, in which sewage full of waste products is treated and rendered safe before being released into the environment. Much of this treatment is done by microorganisms that digest the waste products and break them down into smaller molecules.

There is no absolute measure of biodegradability, we can only measure the rate of biodegradability. In a sense, saying something is 100% biodegradable is meaningless—we would also have to say how long it takes for that substance to completely biodegrade, and that could be anywhere from one week to a million years!

“Readily biodegradable” means that a substance is quickly digested by microorganisms, as measured in a biodegradability test. Our liquid soap, bar soap, sugar soap, hair crème, and Sal Suds can be called “readily biodegradable” because they biodegrade rapidly by the measure of the biodegradability test.

On the other hand, our All-One Toothpaste is not considered biodegradable. Hydrated silica, which is used in our toothpaste, is a mineral, and minerals are not considered biodegradable. Similarly, the inclusion of minerals like Calcium Carbonate, Xanthan Gum, and Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) all keep us from considering our toothpaste to be biodegradable.