Good Vibrations Releases Sex Toy Sustainability Survey

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Adult retailer Good Vibrations has released the results of its recent survey about its customers’ attitudes about greening their sexuality. Survey respondents offered insightful answers, as well as a few surprises. Participants in the survey were asked to evaluate how important they would rate several elements, most with implications for sustainability, when they shopped for sex toys and products. While customers generally care about greening their bedrooms, according to their responses, taking care of their own and their partners’ health is their highest priority: 90 percent rated body-safe material as important, and a full 68.9 percent rated this element of product choice a 10 on a scale from 1-10 (with 10 as the highest level of importance). Almost as important is the effect the purchase will have on their pocketbook: 81.7 percent of respondents agreed that affordable pricing was an important factor for them. The survey did not indicate whether respondents were vegan, but it did reveal that 64.8 percent want their adult products to be free of animal products. 27.7 percent gave this a 10 for highest priority. For 16.7 percent, a product made with natural ingredients was most important, with 57.3 percent overall agreeing that this is important to them. Rechargeable vibrators were rated as important by 53.8 percent, while recyclable packaging and/or materials were prioritized by 41.6 percent. Not as many respondents considered a product’s origin to be highly important; we sought to weigh the consumer’s response to an item’s carbon footprint based on whether or not it was imported, but that may not have been clear to those survey participants who rated Made in the USA at 39.9 percent, with a full fifth of the respondents giving this factor just a 1 out of 10 rating. Most had never bought a disposable sex toy or what they understood to be an eco-friendly vibrator, and while almost 80 percent buy organic groceries at least sometimes, most participants have not purchased organic lubricant. Finally, whether or not a product is green, brand reputation has begun to mean a significant 70.6 percent to our consumers who answered the survey. Dr. Carol Queen, Good Vibrations’ staff Sexologist and company spokesperson, explains the importance of greening the bedroom: “Sex is part of our lives, so any issue that concerns us out of the bedroom has implications inside it: if we recycle, buy local produce, watch our carbon use, and think ecologically in other ways, it makes sense to do the same when we make sexual choices. Our wellbeing and that of the earth are connected, so consider where you can go ecorotic."