Eco-Erotica

Love yourself and your planet with sustainable sex toys.

By Meghan Hilliard

Illustration: Michael Novak

In a city known for its abundance of both LEED certified buildings and strip clubs, it shouldn’t be surprising that when Portlanders get dirty, they also go green. Indeed, the Southeast Portland–based Earth Erotics is one of the country’s top purveyors of eco-friendly sex toys. Twenty-nine-year-old Alliyah Mirza, a former Lewis & Clark College law student, founded the company in 2006 after taking a serious look at her own playthings. “I discovered that there’s a lot of toxic toys out there,” she says. Many sex toys are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can leak toxins over an extended period of time, and phthalates, which have been linked to cancer and reproductive organ damage. Hardly the kinds of materials one wants to be cozying up to down there. Mirza’s online retail store (eartherotics.com) features an array of products made by local artisans; all are safe for the most, um, sensitive parts of your body. Even better, Earth Erotics’ website is powered entirely by local windmills—which means that while you’re getting lucky, the planet is too. Here are a few of our favorites.

Earth Erotics Glass Dildos From $35 In some areas of life (stocking caps, mouth guards, toasters), one size fits all. This is not one of those areas. Which is why Earth Erotics’ wands come in many shapes and sizes (and colors). Made from tempered glass, each piece is handcrafted by Portland Glass Blowers and is entirely recyclable and chemical-free.

Earth Erotics Whips $50 These whips, produced in Washington, are made out of recycled inner tubes from heavy machinery and trucks, assuring, Mirzah quips, that your partner—not the planet—is the one being punished.

Good Clean Love Oils and Lubricants from $13.50 This Eugene company’s line of organic lubricants and oils has been heating up homes down south since 2004. We like the Kissable Love oil (in three flavors), which is not only 100 percent edible, but also 100 percent vegan. Of course.