We spent five years investigating the condom market in order to design a new, Natural Intimacy condom product that would reflect the high standard of ethics of our brand. Ethics in business can cover a huge range of aspects, not just whether a product is ecological or if the company recycles its waste.
A lot of condoms found in Europe are actually produced in Asia and shipped halfway around the world to fill our shelves.
Sadly, like so many consumer products, the pressure is on us to get the cheapest, most competitively priced product on the market, at any cost, including that of the environment. Condoms, like pretty much any other low-tech product, can be produced cheaper in ‘the East’ than here in Europe. The cost of labour is lower, the cost of building a factory is cheaper, and most likely the cost of disposing of waste, environmental compliance, and quality control is cheaper.
The sum of all of those savings is such that it’s economical to pay to ship the final product halfway around the planet and still be cheaper than a European equivalent. The consumer gets a cheaper product but the carbon footprint is higher and there’s a chance that human and environmental considerations have been neglected.
We started to draw straws in the office to see who might be hitting the expense account for flights to Asia to scope out ethical suppliers. We eventually decided that supporting our ‘local’ economy was better ecologically and ethically.
We selected a factory in Germany which would not only handle the production run, but also offset all of the carbon produced by the manufacturing process, meaning we have a carbon-neutral product. Since our market is in Europe, the carbon footprint which actually needs offsetting is greatly reduced too.
Being a German manufacturer, the task of auditing the company becomes a lot easier. When a factory operates, when people are employed, you know that EU, German, and local laws are being applied to protect workers and the environment. If the final production took place in ‘The East’ things might not have been so clear.
!!! Our condoms will be launched in July 2022. They contain instructions in DE, EN, FR, IT, ES, NL, DA, NO, SV, FI, PL, PT, HU. If you are a business owner and would like to be one of our first distributors, please get in touch!!!
For two decades David has been the owner and director of several marketing and distribution companies. During this time he has learned the indisputable benefits of looking after customers, colleagues, workers, suppliers and the local community, treating them all as respected stakeholders in a common project. Recently he consolidated his personal beliefs and business ethics by founding the Natural Intimacy brand and developing it as an Ethical Company.
