Tuesday 28 May 2013

Donate to Dildology: Toxic Toys No MORE!!!


http://www.dildology.org/images/dildology200.png
 "So what exactly are these things I've been putting in my most precious of regions made of?" you ask. When it comes to partners these days, most of us (women especially) are meticulous about cleanliness and safety. I cringe when I see porn without condoms. Me? I may be a dirty girl - I'm known to wash my crotch several times a day in lew of a shower, but I always put condoms over my toys - even my silicone toys . I'm going to assume that you aren't versed in sex toy material safety a la the edenfantasys safety scale. I started my sex toy education in an adult retail brick and mortar a couple of years ago. Before that the only real toys I had owned were the simple hard plastic dial base kind of various sizes. One of the first things that they taught me was that silicone was better and that phalates (which apparantly 'used to be' in jelly toys ) were bad. It took me awhile to understand that 'silicon' without an e was not 'silicone' and even longer to get why some packages were not labeled at all.  It wasn't until after I got laid off  and begun reviewing for Edenfantasys that I learned the specifics about material safety. I thought that porosity was all that mattered and that it was all about avoiding the spread of STIs. Many many bladder infections later I finally clued in that bacteria was making its way from my anus into my vagina and infecting my urethra. Instantly all of those recurring yeast infections made sense as well. 
I am an average reviewer among those of us that write a thorough written review, but if I do say do myself I excel in video reviews (lol they WILL eventually make it onto this blog I guarantee it!!!) and became so used to the spiel about silicone (latex and phthalates free, hypoallergenic blah blah blah) that I begin to sound like a spokesperson. 

Once I discovered blogs like that of Dangerous Lilly I read about the flame test. Basically, the premise is (or was) that silicone - the elite material that we want all of our toys made of (other than glass/ceramic/treated wood or steel) does not burn when it comprises 100% of a productduct. Silicone blends- which is what we are trying to catch along with blatant substitutes, melt and burst into flame whereas pure silicone simply leaves a bit of ash but remains otherwise unharmed even after prolonged exposure to flame. For a long time we felt that this was a fail safe. I even caught a few so called 'silicone' products from cal ex (like the 'silicone island cock rings') that I applied this test to myself that failed miserably- cooking just like plastic, although it was obvious to me just from looking at the cock rings that they weren't silicone. This isnt always the case. Silicone comes in all different textures and opacities and since we have zero- yes you read right ZERO regulations on sex toys and packaging there's not a lot we can do to ensure that we are safe. The other crap that ends up in toys has 2 main results #1 a permeable toy that sucks up bacteria, encourages transmission of present STIs and transfers fungus. #2 TOXICITY!!!! can you believe that pthalates are carcinogenic, cause birth defects and more immediately rashes, burning and irritation? It is not just you! You don't need an allergy to be affected and even if you did, you should be able to rely on a product that goes inside of your body to be safe. Well the thing is, most sex toy manufacturers and in turn consumers, cannot afford all the time or money it would take to pass stringent tests to be FDA approved medical devices- so our beloved dildos and vibes end up classified as novelties. Novelty to me means a product that is not made for any serious purpose- just for fun, has no real use. Novelty to the law makers means 'we cannot be responsible for this if you put in anywhere inside of you'. So um, just buy it show it to your friends and all have a good laugh at the silly penis shaped $150 object? Well besides the fact that I take my orgasms very seriously and they definitely come from things I stick inside my body, I do not laugh when my crotch burns.  I must admit that though once upon a time I was fond of brush handles and candle sticks, I now absolutley love my Tantus and my We-vibes and my Fun Factorys (speaking of Fun Factory, my beloved Ocean has finally rid herself after 6 months of the bled dye she picked up from a Cal Ex Lia vibe resting on her overnight). Companies such as these are generally regarded as safe, but how can we be sure? After all, until the early-mid 2000's we were devouring jelly toys FULL of cancer causing, allergy inducing phthalates as fast as we could scream "OH GOD DOC JOHNSON YOU ARE THE KING!!!!" 
Well........Join the original sex toy reviewer/blogger obsessed with making the sex toy industry accountable, Dangerous Lilly, along with Crista Ann and XVO on www.Dildology.org- a brand new, non-profit organization dedicated to acquiring random samples of sex toys from manufacturers worldwide and putting them through actual proper laboratory tests to determine their exact chemical make-up.

from their website: 
 "We will:
  • accept monetary donations.
  • accept product donations from third-party retail stores and wholesalers.
  • purchase products from third-party retail stores.
  • choose products to test based on community feedback.
  • send products to accredited labs for testing.
  • compare the material composition of products to the manufacturers’ claims.
  • share the results of lab tests with manufacturers.
  • record the results of the lab tests in our wiki.
  • make our wiki available to the public.
  • provide other educational resources to the public.

We will not:

  • accept product donations directly from manufacturers.
  • test second-hand products – only those acquired directly from retail stores and wholesalers.
  • test any product manufactured more than one year ago.
  • publish opinions about products or manufacturers – only facts.
  • falsify data, for any reason.
  • suppress or fail to publish the results of any test."
So I guess by now you understand that I am trying to help Dildolgy raise money- One of the main purposes of my blog is to help people make informed decisions to buy the best and most appropriate  accessories for their sex lives (and of course to share my juicy Tales from The Trade) well this is a continuation of that and a way for you to join in our sex toy revolution. Dildology has some great incentives for your donations including coupon codes, stickers, t-shirts and recognition- hell if you are rich and generous enough you may even get to see them naked!!! The full list of incentives can be found here .
I believe that not mentioned on that page, but still being offered is a special package directly from Dangerous Lilly herself for a personal consultation.
I apologise for this late post- I'm still struggling with tech stuff- teaching myself as I go but now I can sleep more soundly knowing I've contributed to this great cause- now onto parabens and glycerin.......
Sangsara 



please read other bloggers posts on Dildology/toxic toys here

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