Candid Info on Phthalates
Friday, September 4th, 2009
The Safety of Sex Toy Materials
Phthalates are chemicals that are used in the production of some sex toys. They are commonly added to plastics to increase flexibility and transparency. Due to the weak nature the chemical bonds between the phthalates and the plastics, they can leech into food, the atmosphere, or through skin by direct contact. Wikipedia says, “People are commonly exposed to phthalates, and the majority of Americans tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have metabolites of multiple phthalates in their urine.” The most common sources are fatty foods such as milk, butter, and cheeses. Several types of phthalates have been restricted for use in children’s toys in the U.S. and the E.U.
Unfortunately, labeling requirements are not mandatory and there is no accurate way to tell for certain if a product contains phthalates or not. However, if you’re looking for some high quality toys that are guaranteed phthalate-free, LELO, Fun Factory, and Tantus are all brands that have never used phthalates.
At RedPlush, we leave the decision to you, but suggest you always use condoms over your sex toys if you’re unsure. Not only does the practice make an easy clean-up, it can also preemptively prevent infections from bacteria or molds and exposure to toxins. We offer disinfectants and cleansers to make it a breeze, but you can also boil the toys or use antibacterial soap or alcohol to cleanse your toys.
The debate on phthalates is far from clear, since studies are conflicting and rat studies and their testing conditions may not mimic actual use by humans. Why not find out for yourself? Sex-educator, sexpert and technophile Violet Blue has written an extensive post about the safety of many sex toys and other products. Here’s a short excerpt:
“Most sex toys are made of a material usually referred to as jelly rubber, though you’ll also see variations like jel-lee, latex jelly, or derivatives like glow-in-the-dark and “realistic” materials such as softskin, Cyberskin or Futurotic. …It is known that these mystery materials contain latex and phthalates, they have a very chemical smell, they leach oils and can leave spots on fabrics and wood, and the surface breaks down over time. Softskin, Cyberskin and Futurotic toys are especially strange; while they feel amazingly real, they react bizarrely with other jelly rubber toys and actually melt into wet puddles of chemical goo upon contact — needless to say, don’t store these two materials side-by-side. Softskin is the most porous toy of all, able to absorb color from lipstick and even text from newsprint.
No one knows for sure how safe these toys are for internal use; again, it’s the novelty industry so we can surmise that it’ll be about 800 years before clinical tests are done on the long-term effects of jelly rubber chemicals are on the cervix and lower colon. Some people have no problems with jelly rubber toys and have used them for years uneventfully (except for the orgasm part, which is certainly an event). Others have had serious reactions to the latex, or other unknown chemicals, ranging from anaphylactic shock from latex allergy to recurring infections”[1]
