As the world fills up with industrial products, all the same, all spit out by factories in third-world countries, handled by workers who work for a pittance—the surviving traditionally-produced goods take on a greater meaning. Portugal has many of these traditional products ranging from ceramics to toothpaste—and now you can buy them online.
I first tried Couto Toothpaste (invented in 1932 by a pharmacy manager) in the Lapa Palace hotel in Lisbon, who offered a tray of traditional products in its impressive marble bathrooms. The formula, logo, and packaging has remained the same since 1932. It’s odd, you know, using a vintage product. You seldom think about toothpaste and resign yourself to using a mass marketed commercial product. Well, you don’t have to. Then again, if you want to avoid products that are tested on animals, or questionable chemical additives like Triclosan and fluoride, Couto might be for you.
The new site is A Vida Portuguesa and it has a fine English translation. There’s more than toothpaste in the Couto line, of course, Vida Portuguesa has over 400 suppliers of fine Portuguese products.
Perhaps you should buy something handcrafted. You never know when it will be the last one.
And guess what? These days, you can get Couto Toothpaste at Amazon.com.
