Reckless tariffs, culture wars …industry has to rise above these and other challenges
If a recent Fast Company report is anything to go by, we might be seeing, if not the end, then possibly a serious decline in the last few years’ multi-billion-dollar sextoy manufacturing and sales boom.
Unbound’s CEO and co-founder, Polly Rodriguez, explained the financial insecurities brought on by the United States’ international tariffs have created an uncertain atmosphere, where “It’s incredibly difficult to create a strategy during times of economic volatility because it’s impossible to predict what will happen next.”
She added it’s been nearly impossible to attempt to formulate anything close to an effective long-term financial plan, forcing Unbound to adopt a more flexible approach regarding “working closely with our manufacturers and freight forwarders to respond to daily changes in trade policy.”
All this has led Rodriguez to take unprecedented measures, such as increasing product delivery times by reducing shipping costs and weighing low-cost packaging options.
Everything’s changing—not necessarily for the better
It all comes down to not knowing what’s going to happen next, “If the first 100 days of this administration have taught me anything, it’s to expect nothing but sheer chaos,” she says. “I’m not expecting any long-term stability anytime soon.”
Ill-thought-out tariffs aren’t the only turbulence the sexual pleasure industry may have to navigate in the years ahead.
“Whether it’s Sephora pulling back from their sexual wellness section or investors becoming more cautious,” sextech expert Bryony Cole contributed, “anything tied to sexuality or bodily autonomy feels under attack right now.”
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Where once it looked as if we might be on the verge of a high-tech, progressive, sexually-accepting social renaissance, now, as Cole put it, “We thought female-founded brands were finally going to make it. But today, it’s more like we’re operating in the shadows, just trying to withstand the storm.”
Time to lay low or speak up?
While admitting that for all its slow, steady advancements, sextech’s never been an especially sure-footed industry, Cole’s alarmed by how much and how frequently today’s business environment can change.
Not that everything’s doom and/or gloom, Cole points to her Sextech School, a pre-accelerator business resource for industry interested employees, managers, and investors. Cole notes it aims to, “Move beyond just delivering physical products,” and financial and social downturns aside, “People are getting smarter by necessity and fostering more support for one another within our community.”
Echoing Cole’s sentiments, Rodriguez reminds us how crucial it is to play a long game, remembering how “In 1970, only 1% of women used vibrators.” Now it’s an impressively large 65%, showing, “That trajectory doesn’t reverse just because a bunch of old white men are uncomfortable with us enjoying our bodies.”
It’s gonna be a bumpy ride
Cole and Rodriguez’s view of the sextech industry’s stability getting worse before it gets better—due to tariffs, social pendulum swings, and a million other potential drawbacks—is something the business as well as its sexually progressive advocates shouldn’t forget.
Rodriguez reminds us of the proliferation and growing acceptance of pleasure devices, and how people have learned they have the right to enjoy whatever consensual sexual activities they may happen to enjoy.
Besides, until in the hopefully not-too-distant future when predatory capitalism is long and thankfully forgotten, when money talks, people listen.
Whether the growing proliferation of exciting sextech devices and adult content platforms—despite the efforts of opportunistic, anti-pleasure politicians and religious zealots—shows no sign of ebbing, we know if there’s a demand, then there’s cash to be made.
The sextech industry may be looking at an extended downturn or fallow period until everyone—from governments to sexually ill-educated citizens—comes to their senses, but challenging as everything might become, try to take Rodriguez and Cole’s reserved optimism to heart.
Yes, it feels like sexually-informed, conscientious, and passionate communities and businesses are being forced to take several monumental steps backwards, but we’re all still here making stride after stride forward—maybe not easily, but vitally progressive ones nevertheless.
Image Sources: Depositphotos
