The scary, little-known reality about your sex toys.

Strolling down Oxford Street in Sydney as an admittedly naïve Perth girl, I was a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of adult shops. In particular, the shop fronts were a little more ‘forward’ than my western sensibilities were accustomed to (much like the men in Sydney – but that’s a story for another time).

To be totally honest, this isn’t surprising considering Forbes predicted that the Adult Toy industry was worth around $15 billion globally in 2016 with that figure projected to increase to $50 billion by 2020. Locally, the industry in Australia is on the rise with movies like Fifty Shades of Grey and a sense of ‘Gen X liberation’ acting as a proverbial Viagra to the retail sector.

While the appeal of many of these toys lie in their ‘danger’ and ‘mischief’ (from what I’m told - see aforementioned comment on Perth naivety) there are a few things you absolutely need to know about how and where they’re made before getting your hands on them.

A lot of toys are made from hard plastics or silicone because its non-porous and doesn’t let nasty bacteria get stuck on the surface. But tied up in the benefits of plastic is the risk that they’re made with dangerous chemicals and potentially carcinogenic materials.

China is the largest global producer of plastics and has a coloured history of toxins, lead and other unsafe chemicals being found in their products. More recently, an article in The Economist reported that many Chinese adult toys have been found contain carcinogenic materials. Eeek.

Poor quality plastics, apart from being carcinogenic, can also act as ‘endocrine disruptors’ where the chemicals released mimic women’s natural hormones and cause serious health problems. For example, minimal exposure to plastics containing phthalates and BPA can be linked to infertility, obesity, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes according to Choice Magazine.

Interestingly, with increasing fear of Chinese products, Pakistan is tipped to become the new world leader with safer (but still naughty) products, specialising in steel and leather. But don’t tell their government - sex is totally taboo and off limits. Heterosexual sex before marriage is a crime, as is participating in any homosexual act.

So how are the steel and leather factories slipping their kinky consumables out without activating backlash from religious hardliners and the government? The answer to that is almost as lucrative as the products themselves.

The companies rely on a combination of secrecy, bribery and selective marketing to get their products into your hands (and miscellaneous other parts). While a whole factory in Pakistan may be dedicated to producing leather jackets, a select group of trustworthy employees then work in the background to add a few final spikes, studs and more…compromising accessories.

And why wouldn’t they when they can make a 200% profit on a kinky police costume compared to 25% on an average jacket? Everyone is getting 'lucky' from this exchange.

For the inconspicuous items, they might simply go unnoticed by officials at quarantine. One such example is a steel Wartenburg Pinwheel (if you also don’t know what this is, it’s safe to google at work - I risked it) because it looks like a simple medical instrument.

For the more conspicuous items (not sure how someone would disguise a steel dildo), some officials demand bribes to allow the products to export, according to The Economist. It’s all worth it to one steel factory owner who says “you can use Pakistani steel for a long time. It rusts much later than Indian or Chinese”. Personally I had never considered rust as something to think about in bedroom, but I'm sure if you don't leave your toys outside in the rain it should be fine...

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And what about their sneaky marketing strategies? Alibaba, a huge Chinese style eBay between factories and sellers, has provided fertile ground with around 64 Pakistani suppliers listing themselves on the trading site. The descriptions of the toys are ridiculously tactful, with one anal toy described as a ‘high-quality steel utensil’ by a company known as ‘one of the fastest growing manufacturers of surgical instrumentation in the Pakistan’. Subtle.

Before you make your next purchase, it might be a good idea to keep in mind the story behind your toys and where they come from.