Vegan Condoms and why we need them

Vegan Condoms and why we need them

Wait, condoms are not always vegan?

No.

Being vegan doesn´t only mean not eating animal products. It also means not consuming any animal byproducts like leather or fur and products that are not cruelty-free. But either way if you live plant-based or not, keep reading the post as it is also relevant to non-vegans.

The National Health Service in England (NHS) differentiates between two types of condoms: external ones, worn on the penis and female ones, worn in the vagina. In the following we will discuss the first one.

What are condoms made of

Condoms are mostly made from very thin latex (rubber) and sometimes, just sometimes from lambskin instestins.

Why are they not always vegan

You would think rubber should be vegan, right? Yes and no.

In order to soften the latex during the rubber-making process, regular condom brands use the milk protein cassein (comes from mammalian milk and is an animal byproduct) whereas vegan condom brands replace the protein with plant-based alternatives such as thistle extract (it´s a plant).

 What to look out for when buying condoms

• The obvious: cruelty free (yes condoms still get tested on animals) & vegan (no animal product or animal byproduct)
• Avoid if the packaging lists any of these ingredients: nitrosamines, spermicide, paragons, benzocaine, petroleum, nonoxynol-9, paraben or glycerin
• Rubber latex is made from sustainably grown forests
• Fairtrade: brands pay farmers and factory workers a fair living wage and also avoid child labour. The rubber often comes from Malaysia.