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Moleculor -> RE: Sex toys contain dangerous chemicals says Greenpeace (9/12/2006 6:17:55 PM)
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Let me just copy and paste information I've been giving out on this topic:
Jelly anything is dangerous.
Some toys even claim to be silicone and aren't. Silicone IS safe. However, don't always trust the company who sold you the toy.
Cyberskin is, I believe, also dangerous.
Basically, if it smelled like a shower curtain when you got it out of the package (or if it smells at all, including added scents to mask the smell of the chemicals), it's dangerous.
Check the packaging as well. If it says 'for novelty use only', then it's most likely dangerous. That warning covers the company legally should you ever incurr damage to your system by actually fucking the toy.
One way I've been told that can test the toy is boiling it. If it ruins the toy, it was most likely dangerous. Some toys will disolve, others will become stretchy/goopy. This is because the chemical in question is a softener for plastic.
You can learn more by listening to this episode of the Sex Is Fun podcast or following the links at the bottom of that page.
You can't clean jelly toys. Not completely, anyway. They're porous, which allows all sorts of lovely gross stuff hide out and grow. In addition, they stain after a while. Any jelly toy you use for anal sex? It'll turn brown permanently over time. Disqusting.
Jelly toys DO give off chemical residue. It's evident every time you store them away somewhere and then take them out again. That smell. It's constantly oozing off of the toys in tiny amounts that can build up over time in an enclosed space. You might not be able to smell it if it's sitting out in the open for a while, but that doesn't mean it hasn't stopped oozing chemicals.
And why expose yourself to these chemicals in the first place? There's obviously enough of a danger to make the manufacturer feel they have to put a warning on the box that basically says "Not for internal use!" (which defeats the whole 'sex toy' idea) and you have so many other options. Latex, silicone, glass, metal, plastic. Those all work just as well if not better, and only latex has the potential to create an allergic reaction.
Why would you want to shove strange chemicals into some of the most vulnerable parts of your body when you can get the same, or better, effect from something far less dangerous?
Do I think that a ban is necessary? No. I think that a warning on the package should be required however. Which will, essentially, stop sex shops from carrying the toy at all, since why carry something no one will buy?
Greenpeace is by far NOT the first group to point out the chemicals used in jelly toys. They're just the most visible.
Also, here is another link from Violet Blue's site (scroll down about half way), which links to this, a Canadian story about a German scientist who studied jelly sex toys (and found that jelly novelties can give off up to 243 times the Canadian tolerable maximum daily exposure of phtalates).
Jelly toys ooze chemicals, slowly break down over time (yes, even as you're using them, both on your hands and inside of yourself), and can't be sterilized.
Why use them when you have so many alternatives?
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