Photo by Bia Sousa from Pexels“I personally believe that the shame surrounding initiating conversations comes from generations of not talking about sex. Getting the conversation started is the hard part, but once it is started the awkwardness quickly drops away“
We love sex. We love talking about sex, we love doing the sex, and in particular, we have heart eyes for safe sex. We’re always on the hunt for things that make our sex lives better and we often hear that guys and gals don’t like using condoms…but ya know what…80% of the folx who have an STI don’t show symptoms, so even if you’re feeling, fresh, clean and STI free, it’s quite likely that you could be carrying a lil guest.
So, babe, get a dinger and choose a good one. We choose Jonny.
Jonny is the triple threat – they’re vegan, they have minimised toxins, they’re doing errythang they can to be good by old mate Mother Nature. Can we get a ‘hell yeah!’?
We sat down with Jonny co-founder Bec Park to get the good word on these very kewl party starters…
FD: Firstly, vegan condoms – epic! Tell us how you identified this gap in the market, and what it means to you as a company to have vegan condoms as a product?
BP: Vegan condoms; who would’ve thought! To be honest we stumbled across this gap during our research on how to minimise toxins used in condoms. When we found out that most brands traditionally use casein – a milk derivative to lubricate the condoms – and that you don’t neeeeed to do this, it meant that we would be able to offer Jonny to the vegan community.
In fact we found out that there were many vegans unaware of the fact that the casein was used. Additionally, there is research that suggests that it is the casein that causes irritation for some women – not the latex – so it is a win-win.
At the end of the day we wanted to find the best product for both the body and the environment and based on feedback we often hear from Jonny lovers, it seems that Jonny is quickly becoming the brand of choice because of no irritation, and coz it feels good. It is very exciting!
FD: Condoms are innately ‘single-use’ – but you’ve made sure your condoms are eco-conscious. Walk us through why this is important to you, and how you achieve it?
BP: It is a tough one. Condoms eventually breakdown in landfill – but no one really knows how long this takes!
Fewer toxins used in manufacturing is better, of course, but at the end of the day, we know that condoms will take a while to degrade. So, given our mantra is Be Good to Self, Be Good to Others and Be good to Mother Nature, we needed to ensure we could minimise the impact on the environment any way we could.
So in addition to PEFC recycled packaging, we also include Jonny branded FabLittleBags for disposal.
Unfortunately, many condoms are still flushed down the loo (noooooo) and this is not good for our waterways or marine life. So the little bag helps to dispose of Jonny in a mindful way. Put it in the bag, seal it, and throw it in the bin….all the while knowing that the bag breaks down completely in landfill within 12 months.
FD: In a world where we care more and more about being sustainable, and at a younger age – what advice do you have for teens who want to up the ante on their sustainability practices?
BP: Ahhhh sustainability; for teens considering how to live a sustainable life we really encourage them to consider the 3 pillars of sustainability: Environmental; social and economical. They all need to work together and sometimes you need to compromise one to be “more sustainable” with the other, and that is OK!
For example, using Jonny (a product that doesn’t breakdown in landfill quickly) may not be great for the environment – especially if disposed of incorrectly; but the fact that there are less toxins entering your body (chemicals, artificial hormones etc); and protects your health without being invasive (mental and physical) then this is socially more sustainable option for contraception.
Being conscious of consumption is a great place to start and start with the Reuse, Recycle, Reduce mantra (good Jack Johnson song right there!).
FD: Ha! We love that! Why do you think we feel so ashamed as womxn to initiate this conversation?
BP: I personally believe that the shame surrounding initiating conversations comes from generations of not talking about sex! Getting the conversation started is the hard part; but once its started the awkwardness quickly drops away.
FD: Yep, we are all for more conversations about sex. Whatever we can do to make each other feel more comfortable, we’re about! You openly talk about ‘intimate equality’ – walk us through how you define this, and work towards it as a company?
BP: Love that you picked up on that. It is something we believe wholeheartedly in.
We don’t see intimacy as being the responsibility/control of one person over the other; it is a dual and mutually beneficial experience!
So when it comes to your sexual health, we don’t see it as being a “man’s job”, when talking about buying and using condoms for example…we see this as being YOUR responsibility to do good by yourself and by the person you want to have sex with.
It is our human and personal responsibility to ensure that the encounters we have are mutually beneficial, aligned, consensual. It is an equal responsibility. And when you start from this point…then the intimacy in whatever form it takes is so much better.
FD: YES! We all need to get our purses stuffed with a few Jonny’s. A lot of people think to put on a condom will “ruin the moment”. Any advice for conversation starters that we can have prior to initiating sex, so we don’t have to have it “in the moment”?
BP: Our favourite line is “it takes 3 to tango…you, me and Jonny!” So any take on that one-liner is a sure conversation starter 🙂
Sami, one of the co-founders, often jokes about having time trials to see how quickly you can get the condom on! It is bringing this element of fun to the moment rather than taking it so seriously ‘in the moment’.
We often talk about the kind of guy that a Jonny chic/guy has sex with…and he is the kind of guy that when he/she produces Jonny he thinks to himself “I’ve struck gold”! He knows that his partner has complete respect for her/himself AND him – and that is a turn-on in anyone’s book. So ideally, we hope that it is a race to be the first one to ‘grab Jonny’ before the moment arises!
