View Full Version : Berlin sex shoprides wave of responsible cobsumerism. While a wide range of dildos to suit every demand for colour and size are set out across the counter, they all have one thing in common β they contain no animal substances, nor were any of the products used to make them tested on animals. Next to a display of tubes of lubricants, a small sign explains that they are glycerine-free and contain no parabens or allergens.
The whips on sale in this shop, which opened in October in a mainly Turkish neighbourhood of the trendy Kreuzberg district of the German capital, are never made of leather, while sex aids are certified as both organic and vegan. While the organic food sector has a label of recognition at the European level, no such framework exists for sexual accessories. Schindler, who for a long time worked in a "classic" sex shop, is herself a vegan, meaning she shuns any product that comes from an animal or was tested on animals, such as leather, fur, wool or even beeswax, and is among a growing number of vegans in Germany.
According to Joeran Fliege, of the Vegan-Berlin association, Germany has half a million vegans out of a population of 82 million inhabitants.
Anja Haegele, of the Peta animal rights organisation, said veganism was not just about what people ate, it also incorporated what people wore, used as household products or cosmetics. Last year saw the opening of what it claims is Europe's first percent vegan supermarket in another hip Berlin neighbourhood, Prenzlauer Berg. Just nearby, a shoe store stocks only non-leather footwear.
Meanwhile, vegetarianism is also on the rise in Germany and can also be a crucial factor when it comes to love. A vegetarian speed-dating event for St Valentine's Day at a Berlin restaurant this year saw participants swapping dinner dates every 10 minutes in the hope of finding their soul mate.
