Even if you're eco-conscious in most areas of your life, chances are your sexual protection methods are a little less friendly to Mother Earth. Albeit necessary, condoms are a single-use product, which contributes to waste. That said, there are ways to be more thoughtful about the condoms you purchase.
We spoke to OB/GYNs to help you parse through terms like organic, natural, and vegan when it comes to condoms. Here's what these terms mean, plus a list of vegan condoms to consider purchasing instead.
What is a vegan condom?
Vegan condoms simply describe condoms that are free of animal products or byproducts.
Some people assume condoms are just automatically vegan, but that's not always the case. Most condoms are made from latex, which is a plant-based product. However, some latex condoms are made smooth by resting in a bath of casein (a milk byproduct), which makes them non-vegan, integrative gynecologist Shawn Tassone, M.D., Ph.D., explains. "There are also condoms on the market that are lambskin, which obviously would not qualify as a vegan condom," he adds.
