The Coalition Against Toxic Toys (CATT), a program of The Smitten Kitten, is a Minnesota non-profit organization that was formed to help combat the lack of availability of accurate, honest information in the sex toy industry. CATT’s mission is “To demystify the adult sex toy industry and positively transform socially irresponsible, environmentally and personally hazardous sex toy manufacturing and sex toy sales practices.”

The adult sex toy industry is plagued by an information blackout. Manufacturers frequently hide behind the phrases “trade secret” or “for novelty use only” to prevent consumers and retailers from accessing important safety information about their products. Adult toy retailers have also been lax in making accurate information available to customers. Some members of the adult sex toy industry have also been guilty of providing intentional misinformation, making outrageous and unfounded claims about products, as well as simply being remiss about researching their own inventories.

CATT provides this short checklist for you to determine for yourself the safety of a sex toy. If a sex toy does not meet these requirements, we do not sell it at The Smitten Kitten. Use this checklist to determine if toys you already own or are considering purchasing from another retailer are safe and healthy for your body!

Body Friendly: Sex toys should be made of a medical or food grade material that is safe for intimate contact and is ideally hypoallergenic. Unfortunately many sex toys are manufactured from industrial quality materials, do not include accurate information about material quality, and are not proven safe for intimate contact. Often these novelties are referred to as “jelly.”

The Smell Test™: The easiest way discern if a sex toy is made from a safe material, is through smell. Unsafe sex toys frequently have an obvious chemical or plastic smell. The odor is caused by the release of chemicals into the air through off-gassing. Safe toy materials, in contrast, have no smell and do not leech chemicals into your body or the surrounding environment.

Non-Porous: Porous materials can harbor micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, which can cause infections despite even the most diligent cleaning efforts. Sex toys should be non-porous. Examples of safe, non-porous materials include; high-quality silicone, glass, surgical steel, ceramic and medical grade plastics.

Form and Function: Sex toys should be manufactured by reputable companies that design and manufacture their toys to be used sexually, rather than as gag gifts or “novelties.” It is important that sex toys be utilized for their intended purposes and safe use requires common sense. If you are not sure how a specific toy is designed to be used, ask a knowledgeable sex educator or sales associate.