Have you ever noticed the colored square at the bottom of your toothpaste tube? If many people think that this color code provides information on the composition of the product, its meaning is actually much simpler.
You choose it carefully, look scrupulously at its properties (whitening, anti-tartar, sensitive teeth, prevention of cavities…), use it several times a day… But your toothpaste does he really have no more secrets for you? If so, then you probably noticed the small square located at the bottom of its tube. Sometimes red, blue, green or black, what does it mean?
Beware of false information!
For years, a rumor has been circulating on the internet and social networks. These colored markings, affixed to the bottom of the tube, at the back, would provide information on the composition of the toothpaste:
- Black square: toothpaste that contains only chemical ingredients.
- Red Square : toothpaste that contains natural and chemical ingredients.
- Blue square: toothpaste that contains natural and medicinal ingredients.
- Green square: toothpaste that contains only natural ingredients.
But “this information is absolutely false“, indicates the magazine 60 million consumers in a March 18, 2019 article that relies on spokespersons for Oral-Care and Laverana GmbH &Co. KG, two companies which market toothpastes. “If the toothpaste tubes do indeed display a square at the end, it is only for facilitate in the factory the realization of the various stages of manufacture“, specify these companies. Concretely, this marking (“eyemark” in the technical jargon) makes it possible to know if the tube is well positioned in the production line and allows the various filling machines to detect the tube, identify its end in order to cut, bend and weld the packaging in the right places.
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But then, why are these squares of different colors?
The choice of color simply depends on each manufacturer. Some, like Oral-Care, prefer red because “more recognizable for machines“. Others, like Laverana GmbH &Co. KG opt for black “darker than the rest of the packaging so that it can be detected more easily by machines”. In short, color is thus a practical choice. As for the components of the toothpaste, no need to look far: they must be listed on the back of the packaging.