Dear Jim,
The use of toxic materials in sex toys has been a concern for a few years now and the word on everyone’s lips is phthalates. Phthalates are, among other versatile things, chemicals used to soften plastics.
Earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/phthalates.html is a page that explains these chemicals in plain language and the myriad products they are found in and greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/polyvinyl-chloride/pvc-products is another product list. One major health concern (and there are several, including damage to the male reproductive system) is that certain classes of phthalates are carcinogenic, as proven on rodents in lab tests. Meanwhile a Danish study on phthalates done in 2006 claims the levels in sex toys aren’t high enough to affect human health with the caveat that pregnant or breastfeeding women should abstain from heavy usage. This link will tell you a little more about that study: http://udansk.blogspot.com/2006/09/phtalates-in-sextoys-dangerous.html
But wait, there’s more: “While phthalates have been in the news of late and it may very well have been a taste factor in the oversized black dildo of Jim’s, it could have been any number of chemicals,” says Metis Black from Tantus, a company that makes premium silicone toys. “When the Dutch EPA did a study of novelties in 2006, out of 16 toys tested, they found three had arsenic, six had antimony, 12 had lead and seven had cadmium. This study, more than any other, brought public safety concerns to light.” The Dutch study also found touline in several of the toys. “Touline is a solvent and it’s hell on the kidneys and liver and no, you don’t want to suck it or get it near your mucous membranes,” Black continues. “It was probably used to clean the machines or the moulds that the toys were made with. Probably 98 per cent [I’ve read both 70 and 80 per cent myself] of sex toys are made in China and there are no regulations concerning them. It’s a sad truth. In fact, the way most ‘manufacturers’ choose toys are that they get a catalogue from a Chinese toy factory and they choose 1,000 of these and 5,000 of those—it’s one of the reasons all the toys look similar. Bigger companies buy the moulds and thus keep others from using them, but usually it’s price-point driven.”
Of course, as a businessperson, it behooves Black to promote this information. Her company sells only toys made of medical grade silicone with FDA approved food-grade dyes or mica and uses non-toxic solvents in their manufacturing process. Still, all other alarming chemicals aside, breast cancer Web sites contain warnings about phthalates as well as other environmental sites like Treehugger and they have been banned in children’s toys. Despite all the rumblings, the phthalate industry is conspicuously positive. At phthalates.com, you can read all about the marvels of phthalates and their lack of impact on human health and the environment. Oddly, more than any information I’ve read, this extolling Web site, with its stock photos of children running through pristine fields and scientists posing beside fat babies, makes me the most nervous.
So, then, what’s a Jim to do? If a silicone, glass or Pyrex dildo is out of your price range, common wisdom suggests you put a condom on your big black buddy before sucking or fucking it.
