We developed this simple shopping guide to help empower adult product consumers to make confident choices when faced with a number of sex toy options at any given adult store, home party or website. With this tool, you can shop at any adult store in the country and find safe choices even when they are hidden among a vast array of inferior and quite frankly dangerous products. If you live near one of our Coalition Partner Retailers, you can be confident that the inventory will be well stocked with safe toys made by reputable manufactures and that their sales staff and educators will be well versed about this issue and able to help you find something that will fit your needs and your budget!

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 hypoallergenic and safe for intimate contact. 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^TM

The easiest way to discern if a sex toy is made form 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: 100% silicone from a reputable manufacturer, glass, surgical steel, sealed ceramic and medical-grade plastics.

FORM AND FUNCTION

Sex toys should be made 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 used 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.