PSA: Condoms Aren't At all times Vegan, However These 7 Manufacturers Are

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 desires after they’re attempting to get pleasure from 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, the easiest way to guard towards nearly all 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 should you’re attempting to observe a vegan-friendly, sustainable life-style, can you continue to use one? Fast spoiler: sure, however there are some things you must know.

Are condoms vegan?

Condoms are sometimes made with latex, a kind of pure rubber. However to make this materials easy, mushy, 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 typically 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 in the present day, loads of manufacturers provide animal-free selections. Most of those manufacturers nonetheless use latex, however as an alternative of casein, plant-based elements, like vegetable binding extract, are used to melt and easy the floor of condoms.

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The environmental impression of condom waste

Condoms are a giant 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 could be comprised of artificial supplies, like polyurethane, a kind of plastic. 

Polyurethane is sturdy, nevertheless it’s not biodegradable. That signifies that when it results in the landfill, it is going to doubtless 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 the perfect, take a look at the checklist beneath. 

7 vegan condom manufacturers

We Are Flo

1We Are Flo

London-based model We Are Flo presents two completely different forms 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 implies it really works instantly with smallholders who’re paid pretty and follow sustainable farming.
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2 Glyde

Glyde has been supplying the US with vegan, non-toxic, moral, fair-trade condoms for the reason that early Nineties. Licensed by a lot of nonprofits, together with The Vegan Society and PETA, the model presents a variety of choices, together with Extremely Skinny, Slimfit, and Extremely Natural, in each flavored and unflavored varieties.
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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 protected condoms which might be vegan, sex-positive, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing, and it’s protected to say that, up to now, they’ve achieved all of this and extra.
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Cake

4 Cake

Fashionable sexual wellness model Cake focuses on protected, dependable, vegan condoms that don’t compromise on pleasure. It has 5 completely different choices: Cosy, Ribbed, Dotted, Massive, and Skinny, all of that are unflavored, obtainable in three completely different dimension choices, and made with premium-quality latex.
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5 P.S.

These vegan, non-toxic condoms are 40 p.c thinner than different condoms in the marketplace, in keeping with P.S. However don’t fear, in addition they exceed FDA requirements when it comes to 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.
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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 this planet.
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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.
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