This chemical compound has been linked to cancer, infertility and birth defects, as well as liver, kidney and lung damage. It’s banned or restricted by governments around the world, but it’s in some of your most intimate products and you don’t even know it. It’s called Phthalates. 

What are Phthalates?

Phthalates are used to soften plastics. Phthalates give sex toys their Jelly feeling. It also gives them a distinct smell and slightly oily feeling. The smell and oil are Phthalates coming to the surface. Then, when you handle one of these toys, you are absorbing the phthalates into your body.

Phthalates have been around since the 1920’s. Today, nearly a billion pounds of phthalates are produced every year. It’s in everything from plastic food storage containers to medical devices. As a result, everyone has some level of phthalates in their body. 

What are the medical risks?

This is a tricky question. It appears every study that has been done on the effects of Phthalates on the human body is backed by a group with an agenda. A Greenpeace study done in conjunction with the Dutch government concluded that sex toys made with Phthalates (DEHP) should be banned because these items pose a significant risk to the health of the user. 

However, the Phthalates Information Centre Europe issued another report showing no conclusive link between Phthalates an illness in humans. That report has been widely criticized because there is no way to do direct human testing of Phthalates because of the potential risk to the subjects. 

Instead, rodent tests have shown a strong link between Phthalate exposure and different cancers, birth defects, infertility, organ damage, accelerated puberty, respiratory difficulties, and increased sensitivity to allergens.

The United States government has taken a stand. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies Phthalates as a Probable Carcinogen. 

So why are Phthalates used in sex toys when there are so many health concerns?

Simple – they are cheap! Making sex toys out of PVC and softening them with Phthalates is the cheapest possible way to make a jelly sex toy. And, since consumers don’t know what they are putting in their bodies, no one is demanding a safer sex toy…until now!

So what are the alternatives?

There are a number of other, more natural compounds that cost a little more, but are safe for your body and the environment. Science has evolved past the basic compound created nearly 90 years ago and now, the sex toy industry is starting to embrace these safer alternatives.

The natch snatch line of products offers a variety of adult toys that are Phthalate-free. These toys do not smell like traditional sex toys because they aren’t leaching potentially dangerous chemicals. Also, natch snatch adult products come in a safety sealed inner package for greater peace-of-mind. natch snatch adult sex toys are safety tested and packaged in recycled material.

If you would like to learn more about safer sex toys, contact natch snatch via email. They can put you in touch with a retailer who is also concerned with keeping toxic materials out of your sex life.