Green Beaver Star Anise Toothpaste

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Canada is a different place than my home, the larger country south of its border.

It's generally more liberal and inclusive. (The entire country now has legalized recreational marijuana. To my limited knowledge, they are the only country in the world with that law.) One way their inclusiveness is reflected in toothpastes (and all Canadian packaged products) is their bilingual packaging. 20% or less of Canada speaks French, yet their packages give 50% of their descriptive real estate to the French language.

My family and I ventured into Alberta during this past summer to explore the Canadian Rockies. I discovered they are bigger (yet shorter in altitude) than the Colorado Rockies. For those of you who have been to Colorado, you may have seen the Maroon Bells, our most-photographed mountains - stunningly gorgeous. Alberta's Rockies were like seeing different versions of the Maroon Bells over and over - we never ran out of "OOOOHS" and "AAAHS!"

And of course, that trip meant an exploration of locally available toothpastes. The only truly Canadian brand I found was The Green Beaver Company. Their mission is to provide "natural body products that allow you to take care of your health and your family while respecting the environment." All good!

I bought a tube of their Star Anise for myself and for my Belgian sister.

I'm glad I took the plunge - it's a wonderful very mild toothpaste.

It's white and a bit chalky. The anise flavor is subtle and not overwhelming. One of my favorite characteristics of any toothpaste is part of the Star Anise experience - it's very slightly sweet. And as with most natural-oriented companies, their toothpastes are vegan, gluten-free (which could be said for the vast majority of toothpastes), homeopathic-friendly, fluoride free and sodium lauryl sulfate free.

If you're ever in Canada, give it a try!

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