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The Hype
About Toxic
Sex Toys
Heated Debates, Myths & More
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When
we first started Holistic Wisdom, Inc. we did so
with the intention of selling quality products with
an emphasis on education and empowerment regarding
holistic health and sexuality. As our involvement
in sexual politics
became increasingly active we became concerned that
there was no one regulating the safety of sex toys.
We began doing more and more research into the topic
of potential toxins in sex toys and found an absolute
mess in the mainstream media about them.
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Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D., C.E.O.
Holistic
Wisdom Founder
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We
uncovered web sites that were making all types of errors
in the information they were providing consumers and some
of them were either not saying anything or were a bit
over the top in the way they presented their information.
We simply want to let you know what we have uncovered
and what we have done about it so that you can have peace
of mind about your choices when it comes to sexual health
products.
Not
Easy To Determine What Is Toxic
One
of the challenges regarding the issue of toxins in sex
toys is the desire of the general public 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 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.
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 you. 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 good luck getting accurate information with most
of them. Most likely you will get a response from them
that provides little to no information or scare tactics
to talk you into extremely expensive sex toys. The truth
is there are many choices of safe sex toys that range
from low to high in cost.
You
can try referring to web sites that have quick lists that
most likely will tell you that ALL jelly style sex toys
are toxic and full of phthalates
(toxic "plasticizers"
used to soften PVC vinyls)
but as mentioned, that would not necessarily be true.
Some Jelly style products are not made with phthalates
such the Basix style
dildos.
Smell
Does Not Always Indicate Toxicity
Another
issue is the smell factor. Generally, it has been said
that you can smell some 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. What some experts are claiming
is that it is the smell of poisonous chemicals are off-gassing
from the PVC. However, that does not mean that it is always
unsafe if you smell something and it does not mean that
all sex toys that smell are toxic.
Take
for example the casting
material used in the Clone
A Willy & Make Your Own Dildo Kits. The material
is a proprietary, highly specialized, organic thermoset
polymer that is actually much safer than many of the adult
toys currently on the market due to it’s stability when
cured. It resists break down even when exposed to silicone
or petroleum based lubricants, heat, cold, or other extremes.
While the Clone A Willy is drying, you may experience
a slight off-gassing (smell) until it reaches its full,
cured properties (it usually takes a few days for complete
cure). It’s a sweet-like smell, which is actually an amine.
Amines are commonly found in ingestible drugs, and are
completely safe. A polymer very similar to Clone A Willy’s
is currently being used in condoms and in the bags that
enclose silicone in breast implants.
Smell
Study Debatable
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.
Sex
Toys Require Extra Precautions
Of
course regarding the matter of sex toys, there is still
not much information available in the mainstream media
and thus caution should be exercised considering that
most sex toys are inserted or come into contact with some
of the most porous parts of our bodies. This would make
absorption of toxins quite easy and is why we are ensuring
that products sold on our web sites are all considered
within the safe zones that we have outlined through our
research.
Lubricants
are another issue that many people do not think about,
let alone massage oils, creams and other products that
are absorbed by the skin. It is why we carry a limited
array of lubricants and related products as we are strict
about what they can have in them.
For
example, when a study was released that Benzocaine (found
in most sexual Desensitizers) can cause irregular heartbeats
and even death we pulled those products from our site
and posted articles about it. While the study showed that
it mainly involved leaving the creams on the skin for
long periods of time or on large portions of their bodies,
we felt that due to the fact that the creams are put into
highly absorptive parts of the body that it is simply
not worth the risk. You will find that most adult stores
still carry many of those products with no warnings to
consumers about them.
Sex
Toy Stores Typically In The Dark
Most
people who work in and for sex toy stores do not know
what are in sex toys and are often in the dark about what
makes something toxic. Because sex toys are not regulated
(they fall under novelties rather than medical devices
by FDA classifications) many in the adult industry do
not know what sex toys are made of (as the materials are
often not listed on or in the packaging). Often the companies
that do claim to be knowledgeable are making
blanket statements as to whether a type of product is
safe or not.
Common
Myths
We
have seen other web sites stating information that is
simply not true based on the scientific research that
is available. For example, some are claiming that if a
sex toy is not 100% silicone then it is toxic. This is
not necessarily true, as it depends on what other ingredients
the manufacturer added to the silicone.
A
while back a website visitor contacted us to say that
our Sue Johanson sex
toy line was not 100% medical grade silicone and was
therefore it must have phthalates in them, making them
toxic. We double checked our research and in actuality,
while it is not 100% medical grade silicone, the products
are made with other materials that are phthalate free
and thus the claims were false. It is easy to see why
someone might jump to the conclusion when you read a lot
of the hype on other web sites, but it is important to
remain focused on factual information rather than fall
into the dramatic claims that many are now making. It
not only hurts falsely accused companies, but it denies
the public of accurate information and products that are
perfectly safe for them to use.
Research
Still Needed
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. As we researched for
our own resources, we found that many web sites had inaccurate
or misleading information. This was not only frustrating
for us as we sorted through months of research, but it
was alarming that many of these web sites were making
false claims and / or blanket statements about toxins
in sex toys in such a manner that an unsuspecting consumer
would simply swallow these things as the truth.
What
Holistic Wisdom Is Doing About Sex Toy Safety
There
are so many questions that customers have about what is
safe and what is not so, we have and are continuing to
provide research to help with the most up to date information.
However, because it can be confusing enough just to pick
out a sex toy, we decided to go completely nontoxic as
well as green rather than make customers have to go through
all of our research just to select a safe product.
Our
hope is to raise the bar on this issue of sex toy safety
and to provide truthful, responsible information to consumers.
We have gone straight to the manufacturers as well as
consulted with multiple chemists to find out about every
sex toy we carry. We have researched each product to determine
what it is constructed of and if it falls under what we
know to be safe. We have also decided that until there
is more information on some of the questionable materials,
we are going to err on the side of caution and refuse
to carry products that contain them.
We
have pulled all of our questionable products (which could
not be verified as safe and nontoxic sex toys) in addition
to providing recycling information on the materials in
the products we sell. We are also a green company that
practices what we preach when it comes to helping the
environment and empowering people about their health.
We
have done this so that those who visit our stores can
feel comfortable knowing that no matter what they purchase,
it is safe for them to use. After all, having peace of
mind when it comes to sexual health is what we specialize
in. Sex should be relaxing, fun, pleasurable and we want
to make that as easy as possible for you to enjoy. If
you have any questions or feedback about this article,
please feel free to contact us
as we are happy to hear from our readers.