In the United States, sex toy regulations say very little about what a toy is made of. Most toys are sold as novelties, which keeps them outside FDA medical device rules, and the consumer product rules that do apply are aimed at hazards like batteries and wiring. The first international safety standard written for sex toys, ISO 3533, was only published in late 2021, and it's voluntary.
So when you buy a toy, nobody has necessarily checked that its material is safe to put in or on your body.
Why sex toy regulations barely touch materials
Many toys carry a small line on the box: "for novelty use only." That wording matters. The FDA regulates medical devices according to their intended use. It does have a category for vibrators, but it's defined as a device "intended and labeled for therapeutic use in the treatment of sexual dysfunction or as an adjunct to Kegel's exercise" (21 CFR 884.5960). A toy sold for pleasure rather than treatment sits outside that definition.
In practice, a manufacturer can mold a toy from soft PVC full of plasticizers and sell it without showing that the material is suitable for internal use. This isn't hypothetical. When the Danish Environmental Protection Agency surveyed sex toys in 2006, it found that toys sold as "jelly" were typically plasticized PVC, in some cases with plasticizers making up more than two-thirds of the material. Ten of the fifteen samples tested contained phthalates.
What the CPSC covers, and sex toy recalls
The Consumer Product Safety Commission oversees consumer products in general, and its recalls center on immediate physical hazards: fire, burns, electric shock. Battery-powered massagers fall under that authority. In 2011, for example, the CPSC announced a recall of handheld massagers whose batteries could leak and cause burns or skin irritation.
That kind of oversight is useful for the electronics in a vibrator. It doesn't address whether a material leaches chemicals or holds on to bacteria after months of use, and there's no US requirement to test for either before a toy goes on sale.
ISO 3533: a standard written for sex toys
In September 2021 the International Organization for Standardization published ISO 3533, which sets design and safety requirements for sex toys that come into direct contact with the genitals, the anus, or both. It's the first international standard aimed squarely at this category, and it gives manufacturers and testing labs a shared benchmark.
It's also voluntary. No law requires a brand to meet it, and at this point few products mention it at all. Treat a claim of compliance as a good sign worth checking, not something you can assume.
Material transparency is your best protection
With so little enforced oversight, the most reliable check is the material list. A reputable brand tells you exactly what a toy is made of. Terms like "skin-safe material," "premium blend" or "real feel" tell you nothing, and "phthalate-free" only rules out one group of chemicals. It says nothing about whether the material is porous.
Look for 100% silicone, borosilicate glass, stainless steel or ABS plastic. These are non-porous, so they can be cleaned properly, and they don't depend on plasticizers for softness. Our guides to porous vs. non-porous materials and reading a sex toy label go through the terms in more detail, and our cleaning guide covers what to do once you own one.
It's also why our catalog leaves out jelly, TPE, TPR, PVC, rubber and "realistic skin" materials entirely. A novelty label doesn't decide what we sell. Every toy in our dildo collection, and everywhere else in the shop, lists its material.
Before you buy anywhere, run three quick checks. The material is named specifically. The toy doesn't have a strong chemical smell out of the box. And anything meant for anal use has a flared base. If a listing can't pass the first check, move on.