Looking for a new sex toy or just wanna find out how your favourite ranks? Find out how ethical your fave sex toy makers really are.
Any attempt to rank the relative ethics of anything in human society is bound to be controversial. We all have (somewhat) different values and priorities, but after watching Alexis Nikole's recent Tiktok on ethical eating, we realized that just because something like sex toy ethics are somewhat intangible and subjective, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be evaluated.
We're giving points here based on the following ranked and totally biased criteria: local, environmental impact, workers' rights, and also the ethics and relative niceness of the owners of the company.
1. Hathor Sutil
If you're in BC, these folks get a top rating for being local and if you're anywhere else in Canada, they still do pretty good on the local scale despite the inevitable toll shipping across the country takes on the environment. Hathor gets major love from us for their vegan, plant-based, organic ingredients and even more love for packaging their products in recyclable tubes. Their manufacturing process is environmentally friendly to boot. Also, omg, the mother-daughter team that runs the company are exceptionally fair, friendly, and just genuinely good people. Oh, also, their lube is one of our faves.
These stunning glass dildos and plugs are easily the most environmentally sustainable sex toys around. Made locally here in Ontario, this queer-owned-and-operated maker of handmade glass dildos and plugs is known for making some of the strongest and sexiest sex toys around. If taken care of, glass toys can last forever or you can just recycle them when you're done with them. Even their packaging is environmentally sustainable - their satchels are also locally made and are designed to keep your glass toy scratch-free in the longterm. Also, the people who make these toys are ridiculously lovely to work with.
3. Fuze Toys
The notoriously introverted makers of these fine silicone toys may have switched to machine manufacturing in the USA a decade ago, but they offset the operating of all of those machines by investing in environmental stewardship in the Kawarthas, Ontario. They're literally out there planting planting trees, creating wildlife corridors, and using renewable forms of energy. They use sustainable materials, and if you treat them right, your new silicone butt plug or dildo will literally last forever. These folks are some of the kindest and most ethically concerned people around.
4. The Butters
We have too many nice things to say about The Butters to fit in a paragraph, but we'll try. Most lubes aim to be body-safe, but damn, these folks make lubricants that are actually good for the body. Made in Michigan by a Black and queer owned company, The Butters uses natural and sustainable ingredients for all of their products, and because Michigan is so darn close, we'll give them points for being local too. Good people making great lubes at fair prices.
You simply cannot get more local than Love Crafters! Made right here in Toronto of body-safe and phthalate-free materials, this super indie queer-owned maker of gorgeous hand-poured silicone dildos and plugs gets big points for being local, using sustainable materials, being fair-wage, and for being a really good person.
Hole Punch bills itself as a maker of small batch, local, seasonal, cruelty free, organic, artisanal sex toys for the discerning pervert. These sweet, sexy silicone creations walk the line between practicality and whimsy, and because their handmade by the owner, you don't have to sweat over worrying about workers' rights! Our interactions with the maker have always been delightful and on the up-and-up.
7. Fun Factory
We're gonna be straight with you here - Fun Factory makes the most environmentally sustainable vibrators on the planet. By all accounts, they really should be number one on this list, but by their very composition, vibrators lose points for not being as environmentally-friendly as lubes or stationary toys because they do break eventually and wind up in landfill. But, yeah, if you're going to buy a vibe or one of their moving stronic toys, go for Fun Factory. All of their products are made in Germany (not in China!) and they have stellar workers' rights and environmentally sustainable production. Even better, their toys have the lowest defective rates in the industry which means their stuff doesn't wind up in landfill nearly as often as other manufacturers.
This queer and Black-owned maker of sex toys and gender affirming gear is an independent manufacturer located in Pennsylvania. Most of their products are handmade, but they score a little lower on this list for their newer made-in-China offerings. All of their realistic toys are offered in a previously-unheard of FOUR different skin tones, and all of their USA-made products are sweatshop free.
9. Desirables
Yeah, we just can't get enough of locally-made sex toys. Handmade in Montreal, Desirables makes a line or organic massage oils and massage candles, and also offers stunning porcelain toys and massage stones. While porcelain may evoke a sense of "delicateness", we assure you that they're actually remarkably strong, and will literally last a lifetime if treated well. Made in a fair wage environment of environmentally sustainable and body-safe materials.
10. Doxy
The most powerful and sexiest wand vibrator on the planet is literally made at a family-run foundry in Cornwall, UK. With all of the environmental and labour standards in the UK, there is no doubt that their manufacturing process is more sustainable and worker-friendly than anything being made in China and elsewhere. With a super low defective rate, these wands wind up in landfill much less than comparable vibes, and because their wands plug-in, if you treat them right, they may last for a decade or more.
Did we miss your favourite most-ethical sex toy? Let us know!