Environmentalists have long argued that the phthalates found in sex toys are leeching into our bodies, and compare using a vibrator containing phthalates to voluntarily ingesting other deadly chemicals. Is your best friend doing you more harm than good? Could using your trusty rabbit be harming your health?

Take a look around the average sex shop and you’ll see hundreds toys from vibrators, butt plugs and dildos. The vast majority of which are made from some form of plastic.

Phthalates are a compound used in the manufacture of plastics. They are added during the manufacturing process to make the resulting plastic more pliable. The more “jelly-like” the toy, generally, the more phthalates are used.

A study conducted in 2004 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tested samples of urine from 2,540 people and found traces of phthalates in more than 75 percent of tested subjects. Although they concluded that there was insufficient evidence that they are harmful in humans. More recently, a 2009 study concluded that prenatal exposure to phthalates could lead to later issues with children and could be linked to obesity.

Phthalates escape from plastic in a gas form, and we inhale high concentrations of this every time a vacuum-sealed plastic package is opened to reveal that shiny new pink dildo. They also leech from the plastic in an oily film, which is then absorbed by the skin and through mucous membranes such as those found in our mouths and other more delicate areas.

Although steps have been taken by the U.S., as well as Canada and Europe to limit the use of phthalates in children’s toys, but no such regulations currently exist for erotic toys. The issue stems from the fact that many of the toys you see in shops are actually classed as ‘Novelties’ for novelty use only. This subtle classification means that the materials that go into making these ‘toys’ are unregulated. Manufacturers do not have to be concerned that these products are coming in contact with sensitive and absorbent areas of the body.

Classified as novelties, the FDA does not regulate the kinds of materials going into a sex toy. This broad band labeling as a novelty allows producers to put any type of material they want into a sex toy, and manufacturers are disavowed of any responsibility or liability because the toys are labeled with a caution that they are “not intended for actual use”. With that caveat attached to each product, they are often produced with cheap materials, which have dubious effects on both our bodies and the environment.

So what’s a girl to do? Personally I avoid these ‘novelty’ items like the plague. Why would you put yourself at risk when there are plenty of private manufacturers that produce high quality, safe products? There are now a huge number of toys available made from an amazing range of materials from ceramics through glass to metals and even wood. We’ve been personally testing and reviewing some of them and we’ll be publishing our ‘findings’ soon, just need to do a little more ‘testing’ first.

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