About a year ago Atanas Arsov and his team decided to start a business of their own on the crest of the bio-wave sweeping over markets abroad and tricking into Bulgaria. They first decided to develop a toothpaste but found their resources to be insufficient. And as the regulatory norms for the manufacture and sale of toothbrushes proved easier to meet, they opted for toothbrushes and began manufacturing them in Bulgaria.

Theirs is an innovative oral hygiene product with no expiry date – for adults, for children as well as teeth whitening brushes.

“Our toothbrushes are a 100 percent alternative to the traditional product. They contain no plastic hence no bisphenols and in no way pollute the environment. Quite the opposite – they are a way to inspire the people around us to think globally because everything we do leaves a footprint. We may have tired of hearing it, but it is true that we leave behind tons of rubbish. Our toothbrush is a product that is simple and easy to use and helps develop an environmentally friendly outlook.”

The Bulgarian biodegradable toothbrushes have wooden handles made of a special kind of bamboo that only grows in Malaysia. They are impervious to water, 100 percent antimicrobial and can never develop mould which is particularly important for an oral hygiene product that is in constant contact with water. The fibers used for one of the toothbrushes are black because they are processed using Asian activated carbon used for whitening teeth for many years.

The degradation time depends on where the toothbrush is left – if it is composted and placed in damp soil the degradation period will be around 18 months. If it is placed in a place that is dry – 6-7 years, a period that is trifling compared to the traditional plastic toothbrushes which never decompose. As to the future of his business, Atanas Arsov says:

“The investment we had to make and are still making proved to be much bigger than we had planned. Nonetheless, after the first year the business has proved, all in all, to be interesting and lucrative. It is well worth developing, not because it brings in colossal profits, but because it has the potential of developing outside Bulgaria and that is what truly interests us. We have been endeavouring to market the product abroad because that is where the bio-wave is strongest – we are selling it on the markets in France, Germany, Romania and Greece, where the overall purchasing power is higher, buyers are more environmentally-minded and markets are bigger. We are currently working on a whole new line of environmentally friendly cosmetic products, including soap made entirely of essential oils. We are hoping to gradually broaden our portfolio and find distributors and partners abroad to promote our business.”

English version: Milena Daynova