How to Make Your Sex Life Eco-Friendly

Most of us are taking steps in our lives to help protect the environment, like buying organic carrots or throwing shit into the recycling bin from time to time, but you probably haven’t thought about making your sexytime routine a little more green. But a new company called Sustain Condoms is peddling eco-friendly prophylactics targeted to female consumers.

The creators of Sustain Condoms told ABC News that even though women were buying a lot of condoms, most companies branded their condoms for men.

"We know from talking to buyers at major retail stores and drug stores where condoms are sold that women are a significant part of the market," said Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of Sustain Condoms. "Part of the challenge we are facing is the huge discomfort women feel buying condoms," he said. "If a man buys them, he's having sex and he's cool. Women have a negative attitude."

The company also pointed out that condoms can be filled with all kinds of additives that can be irritating to the vagina and vulva’s sensitive skin, like parabens and chemical spermicides.

Sustain Condoms aren’t the only crunchy brand of condoms on the market for granola-types, though. Vegan condoms have become more common in recent years, as the powder used to coat latex condoms often includes dairy, and L. Condoms are biodegradable and glycerin and paraben free. Others boast that they’re not tested on animals, or that they’re made from all-natural latex.

It makes a lot of sense that these products are catching on. It’s not surprising that people don’t want a bunch of weird scary chemicals around their vaginas, especially when you consider that any irritation or trauma to the skin could potentially increase her chances of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. It’s also high time that condom companies started paying attention to the way that their products impact women’s bodies instead of just focusing on men.

If you’re a little freaked out by the thought that an eco-friendly condom might be less effective than your regular old Trojans, remember that condoms are medical devices. This means that each condom brand must be approved by the FDA before hitting the market in order to claim that they help prevent sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.