Remember the schoolyard rumour that if you swallowed a piece of gum, it would stay in your digestive tract for seven years? Turns out it’s absolutely bogus. What isn’t a myth, though, is that the majority of chewing gums – including most of those sold at convenience stores and supermarkets – are made using plastic. And synthetic rubber. And plenty of other not-so-appetising stuff. So even though gum won’t get stuck in your intestines if you swallow it, it’s probably best to avoid letting it enter your digestive tract.
Better yet, if you’re an avid gum chum who doesn’t want to be chewing on literal plastic, there are alternatives. One of them is Sydney-based Swell Gum. It started when Alec Longair and his partner Nicki were on a nine-hour, internet-free bus trip in the middle of Guatemala. During one of many meandering conversations, they asked themselves what chewing gum was actually made from – and were totally stumped.
“It was a question that really ate away at me for the rest of that journey,” Longair tells Broadsheet. “I was pretty astounded and horrified to learn that the vast majority of modern chewing gum is made with plastics and synthetic rubber.”
Longair decided that he wanted to have a crack at making a natural alternative to commercial chewing gums. The couple still had months left to go on their trip, but luckily for them, the answer to their gum conundrum was also in South America: chicle.
Chicle is a kind of tree sap – once the Aztec chewing gum of choice. For the first half of the 20th century, the natural gum was used in most commercial production of chewing gum worldwide. By the ’60s though, most companies had shifted to using synthetic rubbers such as polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate (aka plastic and glue) to cut down costs.
“We finally returned to Australia, ordered our slab of chicle, and I set about experimenting with different recipes,” explains Longair. After about six months of tweaking, Swell Gum was born.
In addition to its chicle base, Swell Gum uses xylitol – a natural sweetener found in many different plants. Xylitol has fewer calories than sugar, and research has shown that it fights tooth decay (unlike sorbitol, a cheaper artificial sweetener used in most gums).
On the taste front, Swell Gum is just like classic peppermint chewing gum – but it’s got so much going on under the hood. It’s totally plant-based and comes in biodegradable ziplock packaging.
“Our mission is all around improving the health of our oceans,” says Longair. “I’m a big swimmer and free-diver, and it breaks my heart when I see some of the rubbish sitting on the seabed at our beautiful Sydney beaches.”
That’s why 25 per cent of all of Swell’s profits will be donated to ocean conservation charities. Longair is making the first donation in a few weeks’ time.
It’s easy to write off this premium-priced chewing gum (it’s $36.95 for 10 packs of 12) as a little bit indulgent. But if you love your gum and you’re tired of plastic dressing up in a costume and intruding on your life by surprise, Swell’s definitely one to consider.
“We know switching to plastic-free gum isn’t going to preserve the ocean by itself, but we certainly hope that we [can] contribute to a mindset which asks ‘What is this food or packing made of?’ and ‘Is there a plastic-free alternative that we can use here?’”
