LOS ANGELES—From its start, The Screaming O has offered sex toys at affordable prices. Some of their products are disposable, while others are meant for more long-term use. And almost from the start, The Screaming O has faced criticism, with some claiming the company can’t be using safe materials at the price points they offer.
Today, representatives from The Screaming O silenced those critics when they presented the results of an independent study of the materials used in the majority of their products.
Polymer Solutions Incorporated, a material analysis laboratory in Virginia, conducted tests on the Screaming O Original Ring, made from clear SEBS (styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene), and the PrimO Apex, which is purple silicone. Since there are no standardized tests in place for pleasure products, the lab conducted tests that fall under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which covers baby products and other children’s items.
“When phthalates became a topic of conversation about eight years ago, people automatically started classifying materials they thought were ‘too stretchy’ or or too opaque or anything that had any odor as unsafe,” said Anne Hodder of Hodder Media, PR rep for The Screaming O. “Some materials do have some odor. If your sex toy smells like old tires or a shower curtain, then no, don’t use them. But not everything is automatically unsafe.”
In an effort to prove their products are made from the materials they claim they are made of, and to assuage fears that their products are unsafe, The Screaming O sent its products for the testing. The process took less than a month, and involved a three-step process.
In the first phase, The PrimO Apex and the Screaming O Original Ring underwent a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis to identify the material type, then a screen for toxic metals by X-Ray Flourescence Spectroscopy (XRF), and finally a screen for toxic organic compounds. The tests proved that the PrimO Apex is made from silicone, that the Screaming O Original Ring is made from SEBS, and that neither products contains any significant levels of toxic metals or toxic organic compounds.
“There were some elements in the silicone test, but our molecular biologist said that they were most likely associated with the pigment used to give the product its deep purple coloring," Hodder said. "The testing also proved that the products do not contain and will not emit any toxic materials.
“I think we can finally put to rest the critics with our data that shows our products are what we say they are,” she continued.
Another result of the testing will lead to some changes at The Screaming O as far as materials labeling goes. Some have questioned The Screaming O on its labeling of products as SEBS silicone. Hodder said that while official “blame” can’t be confidently placed on one person or event in particular, the company confirms that the mislabeling was an error and and that the recent testing has cleared up any confusion with hard date. The company is now in the process of changing all copy on its website and packaging to reflect that its stretchy products (save the TacO, which is made of TPE) are made of SEBS.
Company officials also are encouraging retailers and customers to adjust their one marketing copy to make sure their descriptions accurately represent The Screaming O’s revised copy.
For more information, visit TheScreamingO.com.
