Whether adventurous or mildly amorous, millions of couples use “novelty” items (a.k.a. sex toys). Often purchased on a whim, these bedside buddies can exponentially enhance your sensual encounters but they may also bring their own fair share of damage.

Soft and dangerous
If any of your toys are made from what looks to be a jelly-like substance or have the same smell as your newly purchased shower curtain, there is a very high possibility that they have been made with phthalates. These chemical compounds are used to soften the plastic, making it more flexible, which would seem to be perfect for such an intimate item.

Banned in Europe
Used since the 1920s in not only sex toys, but also perfumes, pesticides, rain coats, hair spray and medical instruments, phthalates have been linked to liver and kidney damage, genital abnormalities, hormone disruption and cancer. In 2005, the European Union banned six types of phthalates in children’s toys due to their dangers.

Puritans unite
Since sex toys are sold as ‘novelty items,’ no government agency is required to regulate what they are made with since, technically, they are not meant to be actually be used (though we all know that is exactly what they are purchased for).

Save the whales and sex toys
Greenpeace issued a warning about sex toys after their Netherlands branch conduced an investigation into sex toys. They asked the research organization TNO to test eight different sex toys for phthalates and found that seven out of eight contained concentrations varying from 24 to 51 percent. Greenpeace warns that these chemicals don’t easily biodegrade and are dangerous even in small amounts.

Two solutions
So, what’s a randy eco-conscious consumer to do? You have two options, both of which are good for the planet and the people you are intimate with: buy green or glove it.

Glove it
If you don’t already, always place a condom over your sex toy before you use it. Should the toy you already own have been made phthalates, they will not be absorbed into your skin thanks to the barrier of the condom. Using condoms on sex toys is a common recommendation for general safety and easier clean up.

Buy green
Purchase sex toys designated as phthalates-free or not made from plastic all together. San Francisco-based Good Vibrations has their own line of phthalate-free silicone toys and have also created a phthalates-free logo to help identify these safer alternatives in their online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Other sexy materials
Silicone is a popular and safe alternative to plastic sex toys though there are other great options as well. Glass sex toys are not only just as stimulating as the more seemingly flexible toys but they are also longer-lasting and can be quite gorgeous to look at — an erotic art, if you will.

Seattle-based Babeland offers an extensive range of glass toys in both their online and brick-and-mortar stores, which are openly touted as being women-friendly.

The Sensual Vegan and Smitten Kitten are two online-only stores that are adamant about carrying only phthalates-free sex toys.

Don’t be shy
As with any other item that you come in direct contact with, don’t be afraid to shop around and ask questions. The folks who work at these adult stores and websites are perfectly comfortable talking about these issues and will quickly put you at ease. They can help you find the perfect adult toy.

[Written for and first published online by Green Living Online]