Question for Cal Exotics Re: Phthalates

I have a Beaded girth ring triple stacker. The box has the "Safe and pure" logo on it. The glossary on the Cal Exotics web page says:"Safe and Pure – California Exotic Novelties® is dedicated to the use of safe and non-toxic materials in the production of their products. Products with this designation are either phthalate-free, or comply with European Directive
2005/84/EC regarding the safe use of softeners (phthalates)." What does this mean? Does the toy have softeners (phthalates) or not? And how can I determine this in the future? Neither the Cal Exotics or the Dr. Joel Kaplan website list this toy as phthalate free, however the Eden Fantasys web page does. Where did they get this info from?

Thanks,
Mike less

Thank you, this is a great question!

With all the conflicting reports, studies, and written articles about phthalates, our company took a proactive stance about 4 years ago. We have slowly replaced most all items containing phthalates, not an easy fix when you carry over 3500 different items! When we label an item as "Safe and Pure" it is either totally phthalate free (Silicone, TPR, TPE, ABS plastic, and several others) or it is well under guidelines established by the European Community with Directive 2005/84EC...which states that softeners (phthalates) at what they established as safe levels, qualify under the directive as safe...

"Phthaltes shall not be used as substances or as constituents of preparations,at concentrations of greater than 0.1 % by mass of the plasticised material, in toys and childcare articles.Such toys and childcare articles containing these phthalates in a concentration greater than the limit mentioned above shall not be placed on the market."

If you look up European Directive 2005/84EC, it speaks to the heart of the hysteria started over the safe use of softeners (phthalates) which is,possible ingestion by children putting toys in their mouths. This was prompted by a study done in Europe with rats ingesting very large doses of the chemical over long periods of time in test studies. Most of the results of those studies were refuted, and ultimately tossed out, as rat physiology compared to human physiology was flawed so far as the size of the dosages of phthalates consumed. Please remember that phthalates have been used, and continues to be safely used, in many applications in our everyday life, including hospitals. It is the only way to soften PVC, hard plastics, and stabilize many cosmetic products.

The fact is, people are concerned about what they use in and on their bodies. Because of that concern, not the hard data which negated most of the studies, we took action. The fact that a PVC contains less than .1% by volume in a hard plastic to make it soft and pliable, is under the strict guidelines (same as for hospital supplies like IV lines, IV bags, disposable syringes) we feel very comfortable designating it Safe and Pure for some of our products.

If anyone still feels that any phthalate is a bad phthalate, stick with silicone,ABS plastic, Latex, PE (polyethelene), POM (polyoxymethylene), PMMA (polymethyl methacrylite), PP (polypropylene), PU (polyeurothane), Phthalate free PVC, SAN (styrene acrylonitrile), TPR (thermoplastic rubber), TPR (thermoplastic elastomer), and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). All products are clearly labeled on their packaging, and on each item description at link.

Thanks again. less

I noticed some of the Colt dildos, despite all being made of "Better-Than-Real Plus", are specified as phthalate-free PVC (for example - Adam Champ, Bob Hager - ie. the newer ones)... whereas other Colt dildos are not specified as phthalate-free, but only as antibacterial PVC.

So should we assume if the details on the website do not explicitly state phthalate-free, that the product does indeed contain phthalates? less