When not to be flexible

When in the mood, we cover the intersection between all that's clean and green versus all that's dirty in sex machines, whether roaming the halls of the Adult Expo in Vegas or observing marketers' attempts to sell sustainability with sex. And it 's really a laff riot when you bring sex toys out on the street. I don't know this last part firsthand, but Treehugger TV found out how to raise New Yorkers' eyebrows by pimping cleaner, greener sex toys in public; watch the video here.

If you think that this sort of blogging is just a cheap ploy to attract attention, then check out the latest "sex scandal" headlines being teased by the world's most famous green group. If the cute factor doesn't work with polar bears because it's too depressing that they're drowning in the melting Arctic, you've got to pursue prurience. Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between should take note of the dire September 11th warning issued by Greenpeace's Amsterdam (where else) office about unsavory sex toys such as the clitofing, the anneau d'erection, and spectra gels. The names sound to me like control panel buttons on the "Lost in Space" craft.

Such products are poisonous because they contain plasticizers called thay  pthay  phfft phthalates. Words this hard to spell and with that many syllables (left) are usually a turnoff. Phthalates (THAY-lates) make the props flexible, but their factory-spawned chemicals have been linked to the kind of unfun gender-bending that makes frogs infertile.

Can you believe that inserting what looks like a glass bong into your body is probably less dangerous than these bendy things? Rule of thumb: anything with that new plastic smell is offgassing unsavory ingredients, and I think it's fair to say that offgassing is a big turn-off even for kinky people. This stuff also leaches into the environment (ew, leeches  leaches: Turn Off) once you toss that corroded vibrator into a landfill.

The European Union frowns upon baby toys that contain phthalates, while American babies still suck on them. But governments won't test the adult goods, just as the FDA doesn't regulate cosmetics. So Greenpeace commissioned its own study on plasticky props for grown-ups. Results: seven of eight were packed with phthalates, which made up as much as 51 percent of the ingredients. What, Greenpeace could only afford to buy eight sex toys? They should have just gone out onto the streets waving dildos like Treehugger did, and asked some Dutch people for loaners. After all, that market is worth some $28 million each year in the Netherlands alone.

Comments

[John]

OK, dumb question, but glass sex toys seem kind of dangerous since glass is quite sharp if it breaks, or am I missing something here?

[Ryan]

If you are looking for more sex toys, check this out xandria products. Xandria.com offers 30 years experience in fine erotic adult toys, lingerie, fetish wear, sex education and pleasure. Three-way guarantee.

[wendy hammond]

do you have a catalog?nice stuff.

[sex toy shop]

It's great to see stories like this with adult sex toy products most people are afraid to post these and just shows that you care. I have one myself www.asextoyshop.com i appreciate this article.

[Lily]

It is so awful that there are so many chemicals surrounding us daily, at the same note it's great that there's a rise in the number of folks supporting the greener side of live. At Love Me Naturally ( www.LoveMeNaturally.com), we sell only chemical free lubes and only glass Pyrex sex toys for these reasons here. We even carry the brand that was posted above!

[The Artist]

Well spoken.

[Wendy]

Hi- Thanks for focusing on the health issues/ benefits of sex products. It is truly amazing how much nasty petrochemical paraben loaded product gets passed off as sex products. We make all natural love products- paraben and petrochemical free that really work. Take a look at www.goodcleanlove.com. Also I write about making love sustainable and would love to hear your feedback about my blog www.makinglovesustainable.typepad.com
Can I post your blog on my blog? Kind of new to this... Wendy