made in China?

When purchasing adult toys there are few guarantees.  

For public health reasons, returns are almost always forbidden by local law.  I believe that even the most staunch of my libertarian friends would nod at this as an acceptable role for government regulation.  I mean who wants a used dildo? (btw - don't answer that . . . you don't want to go there . . . there are people who pay for used panties after all!)

There aren't many adult toy makers who offer any kind of meaningful warranty for their goods either, although there are a few higher end manufacturers these days offering a year or two worth of limited protection against failure.  

This also makes good sense to me, as I'd be ashamed to try and return some cheap "Johnson" made by Doc Johnson.  I'd like to think toys like that are like a really bad one night stand where it's best to cringe, walk away, and try to pretend the whole thing never happened.  Some things aren't worth returning . . . 

My wife Serafina and I recently had an experience with a warranty return on one of those higher end products.  It's a really nice piece from an established and respected European company in the $100+ price range.  The toy's name sounds a lot like a role once played by Keanu Reeves.

Please note that this particular company proudly advertises manufacturing all of it's products "in house."   That leads me to believe, for instance, that if this particular company is headquartered in Sweden, then it's gear would also be manufactured in Sweden.

Imagine my surprise then when the FedEx tracking for my warranty replacement originates in Suzhou, China.  That's not a typographical error either, as my package then transited through Shanghai to Ancorage before making it to the mainland USA and towards the humble abode we call Samadhi House.

Ooops!  In a day and age when good numbers of Chinese exports are discovered to be tainted with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, or poisons like diethylene glycol, I really do my best to avoid purchasing most products that wear the "Made in China" label.  

I'm also concerned about the common use of forced labor (i.e. political and religious prisoners) in Chinese manufacturing.  Estimates of the total number of Chinese political and religious prisoners run as high as six or eight million.  Some of those folks are imprisoned simply for their faith, a disturbing thought for a blog author who believes that BDSM can be a spiritual activity.

I knew a girl who wouldn't accept a $10,000 engagement ring without certification.  She had to know it was not a "blood diamond" used to fund some evil insurgent or warlord before ever wearing it.  Her poor naive fiance had to return the first ring he bought her!

Do you really think  folks like her are going to take kindly to the possibility that the "Sweedish" toy humming in their vagina was "Made in China", let alone that it might be some kind of "prisoner dildo" fostering Communist repression?

Somebody's got some 'splainin to do!