Nontoxic sex toys, condoms and lubricants
October 9, 2008 by Susie Collins
What’s good for the vagina & the penis is good for the planet!
While maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for many people, one toxic aspect of daily life is continuously overlooked: the sex industry.
Most latex condoms, including Trojan, contain casein, a milk protein, and also may be tested on animals. Many water-based lubes contain paraben, a preservative potentially linked to breast cancer. Sex toys such as dildos and vibrators can contain phthalates, oil-based chemicals used to soften plastics, which get absorbed into users’ bodies and can cause a range of damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive system.
However, there are a number of healthy, environmentally-friendly items on the market. Pure Pleasure on Church Street in downtown Santa Cruz carries a multitude of vegan products including condoms, lubrication and toys.
“All of our products in general are body-friendly,” said Amy Baldwin, co-owner of Pure Pleasure.
Baldwin said that before Pure Pleasure, there were no sex shops that catered to the vegan and body-conscious demographic of Santa Cruz.
“We don’t do anything that has phthalates,” Baldwin said. “It’s very Santa Cruz to go down that path.”
Vegan and eco-friendly sex products are nontoxic and generally made with organic and animal-free ingredients. Glyde is the only condom brand registered with the Vegan Society, and some popular vegan lubricants include Sliquid H2O and Hathor Aphrodisia, all of which are sold at Pure Pleasure.
“In my experience, vegan condoms are about the same as your average latex condom, if not better,” Baldwin said. “It’s a softer, thinner kind of latex feel.”
Among lubricants sold at Pure Pleasure is Hathor Aphrodisia, made by a Vancouver-based company that uses certified organic and plant-based ingredients with no paraben, synthetic fragrances, colors or animal products.
Link to City on the Hill Press for full story and more info on nontoxic sex products
Thanks for posting this, I was just thinking about this very question- what do people with MCS use for birth control? There are definitely alot of good eco friendly and chemical free accessories out there- such as lubes or sex toys (try http://www.babeland.com and type “eco” in the search box), like stuff made of elastomer instead of other dangerous plastics. But the condom thing- that is hard… (pun somewhat intended)… because they are so toxic.
I will have to look into these other companies, see if they are chemical free & gluten free- a difficult combo to find.
I use totally nontoxic birth control. It’s called menopause! lol (except when having hot flash, then not so lol).
Condomi are vegan society approved…or at least they were? They’re only available by mail order for the UK, but probably not in the US…
Thanks, Charlie. Here’s an update on Condomi, looks like they sold and lost vegan certification, boo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condomi
Leslie, let us know if you find anything.
Lame about Condomi, but I am not suprized, for being all natural they were very irritating when I tried them. Maybe an option would be sheep skin (which is not at all vegan) - but this doesn’t protect from STD’s. I think the real problem is the chemical lubes on condoms, much more then the material they are made of - I wish a company would get an organic clue!