NEW YORK – Earth-friendly sex gets a boost from a most unlikely source this month: The Oct. 26 issue of venerable Time magazine includes a brief feature about what the writer calls “enviro-sex.”Who knew sex could damage the planet?

According to Time writer Kathleen Kingsbury, it’s not the sex itself that endangers the environment, but the manufacture, use and disposal of accoutrements. Consequently, a growing number of sex-positive educators, manufacturers, retailers and consumers have begun to empasize carnal eco-issues are no less important than any others when it comes to saving the Earth from its inhabitants.

“As the green movement makes its way into the bedroom, low lighting is a must — to conserve electricity — but so are vegan condoms, organic lubricants and hand-cranked vibrators,” Kingsbury wrote in “Sex and the Eco-City: Getting It On Is Getting Greener.”

To that end, Kingsbury outlined in a sidebar how four adult product categories have “gone green.” Although the sidebar doesn’t specify many brands, it mentions organic lubricants; sex toys made of glass, stainless-steel and mahogany; whips made of recycled inner tubes instead of leather, and lambskin and vegan condoms as examples of ways adult products manufacturers demonstrate concern not only for the health of their customers, but for Mother Earth as well.

“Another big enviro-sex trend: birth control that’s au naturel,” Kingsbury added. “Like all good Catholics, my husband and I had to attend church-run marriage prep before we tied the knot last year. I was surprised, however, during the hard sell on natural family-planning (NFP), that this updated version of the rhythm method was being advertised not only as morally correct but also as ‘organic’ and ‘green.’ I was even more surprised when I found out that some of the most popular instructors of NFP — known in secular circles as the Fertility Awareness Method — are non-Catholics who praise it as a means of avoiding both ingesting chemicals and excreting them into rivers and streams.”

Of course, not all eco-friendly adult products are friendly to every consumer, and some even have major drawbacks. Those who are allergic to latex have known about the existence of lambskin condoms forever. Although lambskin condoms are biodegradable and do prevent pregnancy when used correctly, they do not protect from sexually transmitted diseases. Vegan condoms, which substitute cocoa powder for the dairy products in latex, perform better in that regard, but they tend to be more expensive than traditional latex condoms. (And no, they don’t all taste like chocolate, Kingsbury noted.)

So far, green products are meeting with approval among adult consumers. Woman-centric retailer Babeland told Kingsbury it sells four times as much of its Naked organic lubricant as it does of a national synthetic brand. The company’s retail locations in Seattle and New York City also saw sales of stainless-steel and glass toys zoom by as much as 85 percent between 2007 and 2008.

“It just goes to show that if they have choices, customers pick more eco-friendly and natural options,” co-founder Claire Cavanah said. “People want high-quality, renewable materials that they know will last.”

To see the article and the sidebar in their natural habitat, visit Time’s website.