Green Sex Toys?

by Genevieve

If you’ve recently purchased British chocolate-flavored “willy spread,” the English term for edible erotic body paint, beware before you lick.

The Ann Summers sex shop chain across the pond is pulling its “I Love You” body spread set from shelves. The chocolate paint included in the set was manufactured in China and has been found to be tainted with melamine. According to TIME, the chemical, when mixed with formaldehyde and cooked, becomes a plastic that was popularly used to make dishes and other household items in the 1930s. In powder form, melamine is detected as a protein, and shady food manufacturers use it to cut corners instead of amping up the actual nutritional value of a food product. Four babies have died and thousands of others made sick in China after a manufacturer included the chemical in baby formula.

The UK equivalent of the FDA says that a small amount of melamine consumed is not of grave concern. Unless a couple had experimented with head-to-toe edible body paint recently they should not be made sick from the contamination. Regardless, this begs the question: is it time for sex toys to go green?

Earth Erotics, one line of eco-friendly sex toys on the market, came about after the founders realized the FDA has no regulation of adult products, even those deemed edible. Many larger sex toy stores, like Babeland, carry green inventory, too. It might cost you more, but at least you’ll be sure your next edible body paint purchase will be melamine-free.

Check out more green sex tips on the Discovery Channel’s Planet Green website.