Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Dangerous lingerie

And I don't mean the kind that will get you pregnant.

This month's Green Moms Carnival, hosted by Diane and her Big Green Purse, is all about the environmental issues with clothing. We've all discussed the benefits of organic fabrics, reuse, refashioning and the like, so I thought I'd tackle an altogether different aspect of the health and environmental impact of... dangerous lingerie.

Most lingerie, especially the kind found in adult sex shops are made of synthetic fabrics and are not only just scratchy, but are in general, just not the healthiest fabrics to be putting near your genitalia due to residual formaldehyde, flame retardants and polyurethane fibers, but also because they generally don't breathe. Although, for some purposes, the garments aren't exactly meant to be worn for very long.

The bigger issue is really adult wear that is made out of vinyl or PVC. The selections are innumerable, ranging from bustiers, corsets and cat suits to Halloween costume style role play. I suspect that few of my readers have a closet full of PVC sex wear but, you never know. What's the problem with PVC, aside from the fact that they stink?

Well, that stink is all the off-gassing of VOC's (volatile organic compounds) from chemicals such as phthalates which are used to make plastics flexible. Phthalates are endocrine distruptors and can interfere with hormone levels. You breathe this into your lungs which then heads into your bloodstream, along with a whole host of other chemicals potentially being absorbed by your skin and mucous membranes - unless you sprang for the crotchless version, you dirty thing, you!

What's the big deal about a little hot phthalates and sex? If you do plan on getting pregnant as a result of your dangerous lingerie, you can bet your unborn baby boy would appreciate not being exposed to contaminants that will reduce the distance between his anus and penis (resulting in an anis? or panus?), and/or cause his testicles to not drop or, worse yet, have a smaller penis.

If you aren't planning on getting knocked up as a result of your night o' bondage, you yourself can plan on an increased risk of a damaged liver and kidneys and a number of different cancers. Oh, and you can throw a little infertility in there while you are at it.

What if you desperately want that super sexy skintight catsuit? Skip the pleather and spring for the leather or just go with a non-toxic or edible body paint instead. Your lungs, unborn children and all your organs (and your partner's) will thank you for it.

8 comments:

Dea-chan said...

Oh Crunchy, I love that you go places we haven't even thought of wondering the benefits/detriments of. Vinyl catsuits... ha! Although I'm not a pleather person, I have a friend who is, so I shall send him this article.

Anonymous said...

Isn't leather often tanned using heavy metals (chrome etc)?

Anonymous said...

Fashion Week Dispatch: Samantha Pleet proves eco-couture need not "scream green"

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/23/fashion-week-dispatc.html

Leslie Richman said...

Love this post!

I always hated how cheap and scratchy that stuff seems. I'm not into wearing plastic...

Diane MacEachern said...

Maybe lingerie made with pleather should come with a warning label: "WARNING - having sex while wearing this outfit will make you wish you were naked instead."

Anonymous said...

ba ha ha ha, I love this post! I'll be extra careful when choosing my "unmentionables" now! Had to RT this!

Lisa said...

You are awesome haha. I'm wearing an organic cotton thong at the moment and I think organic lace is a lot better than PVC. ;)

Lisa said...
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