Nontoxic Sex Toys
         NASAE Report - Buyers Beware

With over 43% of Americans having used a vibrator, sex toys are a prominent part of our sex lives these days. However, along with all the pleasure and sexual creativity they bring, there may be some unwanted chemicals that come with them as well. Many educated consumers are now looking for green sex toys that are hypoallergenic, nontoxic, eco-friendly with personal lubricants that are paraben and glycerin free.

Because the U.S. Government is not requiring sex toy regulations, sex toy manufacturers classify their products as "novelties" and avoid having their products regulated as well as you might think. This is also why it is rare to find user manuals on how to actually use the products, as this would define them as something for sex and possibly defined as a medical device, which affects their product classification.

While the adult industry has been at the forefront in technological advancements on the Internet, they are still lagging behind in making their companies and products green. However, there is one company that is leading the pack in such an attempt. Appropriately named, National Association For Sexual Awareness & Empowerment (NASAE.org), is making it's mark by educating consumers about sexual aids in regard to their toxin levels as well as whether or not they are recyclable. Lisa S. Lawless, CEO and founder of NASAE and Holistic Wisdom, Inc. has been pushing for an environmentally conscientious movement in the sex toy industry and is hoping that leading through example and public speaking she will be able to interest other retailers and consumers' in thinking green when it comes to sex.

With educational articles on the materials that sex toys are made of and the ingredients in personal lubricants, the company is making it clear to consumers that not only is it important to know how to recycle such products, but whether or not they are non-toxic and safe to use. “Some sex toy shops are coming around, “ says Lawless, “however, some web sites are making mistakes in their attempts to educate consumers on toxins in sex toys.

We continue to find all kinds of mistakes from web sites saying something was 100% silicone when it was a blended silicone to finding sex toys that were said to be safe because they were made with Pyrex glass but were spray painted over the glass with paint that contained toxic chemicals.

One of the challenges regarding the issue of toxins in sex toys is the desire to lump a type of toy into a toxic or not toxic category in any situation. For example, many people are now saying that anything that is considered a jelly sex toy is toxic. However, the truth is that not all jelly style sex toys are toxic. It depends on what materials were used to create the "jelly" sex toy and how it was constructed.

One of the issues is that there is not a set way that jelly sex toys are made or what materials are used to consistently make them. Then, when you throw in brands such as Jel-Lee, it is even more difficult to know what you are dealing with. Another issue brought up in this debate is the smell factor.

Generally, it has been said that you can smell toxins through what is commonly referred to as that "new shower curtain smell," however; there is debate as to what level of exposure there is to those toxins. This was brought about by people basing their opinions on information released about phthalates (toxic "plasticizers" used to soften PVC vinyls) found in shower curtains.

A recent study released by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) on shower curtains received a great deal of media attention which in turn gave erroneous information about phthalates. It was not shocking that they found phthalates in the shower curtains, as phthalate esters are a key ingredient in soft vinyl (often found in shower curtains). The error was in saying that it is the phthalates that cause the smell when in fact, phthalates are odorless.

Even more interesting was that the CHEJ failed to detect phthalates off-gassing from the shower curtains in its lab test. The other issue in this study that was overlooked is that phthalate exposure levels can vary and shower curtains and reports show that those in the U.S. are well within safe levels, as verified by data from the U.S. Government Centers for Disease Control. “Determining how products are made and what is in them is nearly impossible for customers to do, and thus, why we felt we needed to do that work for the consumer,” said Lawless.

“The reason it is impossible for consumers to determine is because the manufacturers of the products are not listing all the materials used to make them or the process in which they were made on or in the product packaging. Therefore, you would have to depend on the adult store you purchase them from to inform you and right now most of them are not educated enough about them.

There simply needs to be more long term research to truly make some of the claims people are making about adult products at this point. It is irresponsible to become an extremist in either direction on this topic. "Health and empowerment are the most often important yet overlooked aspects of sexuality," says Lawless. "It is time for leaders in the sex toy industry to offer consumers safe, quality products while educating them about their use and disposal.

The cheap sex toy, full of toxins and bad for the environment is slowly being rejected by consumers. We sell so many new, wonderful safe products to our customers that it is clear that consumers are ready for a change when it comes to sexual products."