Zero Waste: Consumers’ Perception of the Use of Eco-friendly Toothpaste Tablets—A Quasi-experimental Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Aims:The purpose of the study was to evaluate consumers' perception of the use of eco-friendly toothpaste tablets and evaluate whether there would be a perception difference by consumer demographics: Gender and age.Materials and methods: Participants (N = 152) received one packet of toothpaste tablets (Denttabs GmbH, Berlin, Germany).Participants were instructed to brush using toothpaste tablets twice daily.At the end of the 1-week period, participants completed a 10-item questionnaire on their satisfaction of the use of toothpaste tablets.Pearson's Chi-squared test was used to test the distribution of positive and negative responses by gender and by age.Tests of hypotheses were two-sided with α = 0.05.Results: The majority responded favorably to cleanliness after usage, flavor, ease of use, importance of eco-friendliness of toothpaste products, intention to switch to tablets, and overall satisfaction with the texture.However, 59.9% of participants disliked the texture of tablets.Based on Pearson's Chi-squared test, there were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of positive and negative responses by gender except for flavor (p = 0.013), where more males responded negatively (27.4 vs 11.5%).Participants were further categorized by age and respective generation (n = 38/age generation type).There were no significant differences in the distribution of positive and negative responses by age generation except for flavor (p = 0.023) and potential switch to toothpaste tablets (p = 0.030).For both items, millennials showed a greater proportion of negative responses than the other generations.Conclusions: Toothpaste tablets offer an effective and eco-friendly alternative to traditional toothpaste.While patients generally view them positively, texture remains a major factor influencing acceptance.Clinical significance: Consumer responses indicate a positive perception of toothpaste tablets, supporting their potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional dentifrices.Clinicians should highlight both the environmental benefits and the sensory differences when recommending toothpaste tablets to support patient adoption and align with growing sustainability trends.
Authors: Franklin Garcia-Godoy, So Ran Kwon, Udochukwu Oyoyo, Jasmine Sandhu, Brittany Calderon, Bumsoo Park, Jixa Patel
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411500748