You might not think of whether or not your condoms are fairtrade when you and your partner hit the sheets, but you should. So why do sustainability and sex make a perfect match? It’s about ensuring health for you and the environment!
FairTrade Rubber
The rubber plantations where natural latex is produced should follow fair trade practices. Why is this important? Ensuring that the practice is fair trade certifies that money goes towards improving housing, electricity, education and health for people who work hard on the rubber plantations to harvest latex from the rubber trees so that items such as condoms can be made. French Letter condoms is an example of a company that ensures ethically sourced latex.
Animal-Friendly
It might surprise you to hear that condoms could contain animal products in the form of casein, a by-product of milk, which makes them non-vegan. If you are vegan or just don’t want to buy condoms that have any animal-related ingredients in them (we don’t blame you!), then choose condoms that avoid animal products. Luckily, vegan condoms are usually also fair trade, so that’s a sexy bonus.
Free of Harmful Chemicals
Condoms should not only be sustainable, but also better for your health. Many condoms contain a chemical known as N-Nitrosamine that has been linked to cancer, according to German research. Scarily, 29 of the 32 condom brands that were tested in that study revealed this toxin. Talk about killing the mood!
It’s a must to avoid toxins on condoms when you think that bodily fluids can cause them to be released into your system. If you’re being responsible about your health by wearing condoms to protect yourself against STDs/HIV (as you should every single time), then you should also be avoiding chemical exposure.
Sustain condoms are free of n-nitrosamines, while also being vegan and fair trade.
Spreading the Love
In addition to providing an eco-friendly condom, Sustain helps to make a difference in women’s health. Did you know that in the United States there are approximately 17 million women who require reproductive health as well as family planning services that are publicly funded? That’s a scary stat, courtesy of the Sustain website. In order to assist with the problem, 10 percent of Sustain condom profits go to the cause.
Your sex life can and should be healthy for you and the planet, so make it sensual and sustainable.
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