The green movement may be getting old to some, but in order to stay safe in the bedroom, it is important to shop for phthalate-free sex toys.
Mesh reusable grocery bag: check. Bisphenol-A-free plastic water bottle: check. All-natural rechargeable vibrator: check.
As the green movement marches its way into our bedrooms, there may be a new meaning for the term “tree hugger.” I thought I was doing the earth a favor by turning off the lights, but apparently I need to step up my game.
On March 30, NBC Philadelphia did a segment highlighting eco-friendly sex with the book Eco-Sex, Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable by Stefanie Iris Weiss. For a greener sex life, Weiss suggests using rechargeable toys, taking showers with your partner and not having kids.
The segment begins with a bold statement: “If you haven’t thought about greening up your sex life, it could be an environmental disaster.”
Here’s my bold statement: Give me a break – pollution, smollution. Our non-organic lube is really what is killing the environment.
These sex books offer advice to help the environment but leave out some vital information that make the “Sexy Green Movement” a serious reality rather than the joke NBC Philadelphia makes it out to be.
“When I think about being green in terms of sex and sex toys, I’m thinking less about recycled plastic and more about working with materials that are body-safe and good for the environment,” said J.D. Bauchery, a writer and marketer for HotMoviesForHer.com, a video-on-demand porn website specifically for women.
Who wouldn’t want something natural going there? Besides the peace of mind that a material with a name I can actually pronounce going up my hoo-ha gives me, there are serious things to consider when choosing a sex toy.
Toys made from natural materials, such as steel, glass and wood, are body-safe. Even though silicone is not natural, it is a safe material. Toys produced from unnatural materials contain phthalates, which are chemicals found in plastic softeners.
“These chemicals can leach into your body and have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other major health issues,” Bauchery said.
Cheap toys are porous, so bacteria can live in the holes and can cause infection in your body. You can clean porous toys. However, you cannot disinfect them. Non-porous toys, such as those made with silicone, can be sterilized by boiling them in water for a few minutes or by tossing them on the top shelf of your dishwasher without soap.
Bauchery further explained that organic lubricants are better for your body as a whole and less irritating to a person’s most sensitive parts.
“More people are concerned about what is going in their bodies,” she said.
Making the decision to have eco-sex shouldn’t be about saving trees; it should be about doing what is best for your body. After all, is anyone tossing out his or her sex toy to lay in a landfill for years? Those things are keepers.
News segments and fluffy magazine articles urge us to get it on with the environment, but people should know the real issues at stake. Sexy time isn’t so sexy if it’s at the risk of infection or cancer. Telling me not to have kids to save the environment is a lame excuse for green advice. You might as well write an entire book on masturbating with only your hand to save the planet.
Samantha Krotzer can be reached at samantha.krotzer@temple.edu.
Sure, if sex toy industry is to come out to mainstream, we have to contribute to the society as a sustainable company.
Eco-sex is good.