Monday, Aug 25, 2008    Text size: 

In addition to redesigning the product with new packaging and coating, Natural Contours will be donating 10 percent of the proceeds from vibrator sales to Breast Cancer Action, a San Francisco-based grassroots organization devoted to fighting breast cancer and the adverse effects of its treatment.

Cadida Royalle, director of marketing for Natural Contours, said that the process of finding a partner to team with for the project was more difficult than one might expect.

“We started with all the typical, well-known breast cancer foundations, and the thing about them is that they’re huge now and you have to jump through so many hoops just for the privilege of donating to them,” Royalle told XBIZ.

Natural Contours initially looked at five companies, but narrowed it down to Breast Cancer Action because of their stance on product ingredients.

“BCA advocates for less-toxic breast cancer treatment, they work to protect communities from involuntary exposure to cancerous products and they will not accept corporate funding from anyone who has products that are carcinogenic or contribute to breast cancer,” Royalle said. “That really resonated with me. They’re a smaller group, the kind that doesn’t get a ton of money, and I thought ‘this is perfect, these are the kind of people I want to deal with.’”

Royalle is especially excited about the venture because of the response the Petite Pink Ribbon has been getting from mainstream sources. Royalle said she was even approached recently by a friend outside the adult industry who wanted to give the vibrators to other friends as a gift.

“It’s the kind of product that reaches mainstream—conservative women who don’t want to hand out a big veiny dildo, but they do want to hand out something that is discreet,” she said. “There are still a lot of women that get embarrassed about things that are blatantly sexual and Natural Contours has done a great job of appealing to women and making them want to own this kind of product.”

In Royalle’s opinion, associating a sexual health product with breast cancer awareness is a perfect marriage because the negative sexual effects breast cancer has on women are so serious and so rarely discussed.

“To me it makes so much sense to bring light to a product that is about women’s sexual health,” she said. “No one talks about how breast cancer affects women’s sexual health and self esteem, so it makes sense to have a product that focuses on their sexual health and helps them achieve sexual satisfaction.”

The Petite Pink Ribbon vibrator will be available through Natural Contours on Oct. 1.