Getting intimate is meant to be enjoyable, and, let’s be sincere, getting a sexually transmitted an infection (STI) is the very last thing anyone needs after they’re making an attempt to take pleasure in themselves. However throughout the US, STI charges are rising. Based on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, incidents of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis all elevated between 2020 and 2021.
Protected intercourse is vital. And, doubtless, one of the simplest ways to guard towards the vast majority of STIs and undesirable pregnancies is to make use of a condom. Actually, if used accurately, condoms are about 98 p.c efficient at stopping being pregnant. However if you happen to’re making an attempt to observe a vegan-friendly, sustainable life-style, can you continue to use one? Fast spoiler: sure, however there are some things you have to know.
Are condoms vegan?
Condoms are sometimes made with latex, a sort of pure rubber. However to make this materials easy, comfortable, and pliable, casein is often used within the manufacturing course of. Casein is a protein derived from cow’s milk, so it’s not vegan. Some condoms are additionally generally made with lambskin, one of many oldest supplies used for condoms, which is derived from the intestinal membrane of a lamb.
However the vegan condom market is rising, and at present, loads of manufacturers supply animal-free decisions. Most of those manufacturers nonetheless use latex, however as a substitute of casein, plant-based substances, like vegetable binding extract, are used to melt and easy the floor of condoms.
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The environmental affect of condom waste
Condoms are an enormous supply of waste. Actually, it’s estimated that round 5 billion are purchased and thrown away yearly. Whereas biodegradable latex is a go-to alternative for many condom producers, some condoms might be constructed from artificial supplies, like polyurethane, a sort of plastic.
Polyurethane is sturdy, nevertheless it’s not biodegradable. That signifies that when it leads to the landfill, it’ll possible keep there for hundreds of years, leaching microplastics into the soil. Nonetheless, it’s doable to purchase condoms from manufacturers that don’t exploit animals and use extra eco-friendly supplies. For seven of one of the best, try the checklist under.
7 vegan condom manufacturers
We Are Flo
1We Are Flo
London-based model We Are Flo provides two completely different sorts of vegan, eco-friendly condoms, XO! Extremely-Skinny and XO! Hello-Sensation, each of that are carbon-neutral and made with pure rubber latex. The model can also be a founding member of the Regenerative Rubber Initiative, which suggests it really works instantly with smallholders who’re paid pretty and observe sustainable farming.
Get them right here
2 Glyde
Glyde has been supplying the US with vegan, non-toxic, moral, fair-trade condoms for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties. Licensed by numerous nonprofits, together with The Vegan Society and PETA, the model provides a variety of choices, together with Extremely Skinny, Slimfit, and Extremely Natural, in each flavored and unflavored varieties.
Get them right here
Hanx
3 Hanx
British model Hanx—which launched vegan condoms within the US again in 2022—was created by Farah Kabir, an funding banker, and Sarah Welsh, MD, a gynecology physician again in 2017. The duo got down to make secure condoms which might be vegan, sex-positive, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing, and it’s secure to say that, thus far, they’ve achieved all of this and extra.
Get them right here
Cake
4 Cake
Trendy sexual wellness model Cake focuses on secure, dependable, vegan condoms that don’t compromise on pleasure. It has 5 completely different choices: Comfortable, Ribbed, Dotted, Giant, and Skinny, all of that are unflavored, obtainable in three completely different measurement choices, and made with premium-quality latex.
Get them right here
5 P.S.
These vegan, non-toxic condoms are 40 p.c thinner than different condoms in the marketplace, in accordance with P.S. However don’t fear, in addition they exceed FDA requirements by way of power. “Intercourse is one thing that’s meant to be felt and loved with out fear,” notes the model. The condoms can be found in two sizes: Common and XL.
Get them right here
Maintain
6 Maintain
Based by the household behind Seventh Era, an eco-friendly cleansing model, Maintain is all about making intercourse as sustainable as doable. Actually, the model’s vegan, non-toxic, fair-trade condoms are sourced from the one FSC-certified latex plantation on the planet.
Get them right here
Lelo
7 Lelo
Based on Lelo, its signature Hex condoms are made with a “distinctive hexagonal cell construction,” which helps the condom to stretch and transfer whereas sustaining power and safety. However, made with pure latex, they’re additionally skinny and easy sufficient to not hinder pleasure.
Get them right here
For extra on vegan intercourse, learn:
Charlotte is a author and editor based mostly in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.
Right here at VegNews, we stay and breathe the vegan life-style, and solely suggest merchandise we really feel make our lives superb. Often, articles could embody purchasing hyperlinks the place we’d earn a small fee. On no account does this impact the editorial integrity of VegNews.
