Former Bachelor of the Year’s vegan condoms and lube have animal lovers hot under the collar
WHO knew most condoms and lube weren’t vegan? This former Cleo Bachelor hottie has launched a range of animal byproduct-free frangers.
WHO knew many condoms and lubricants contained animal byproducts?
Dustin Leonard, a former Cleo Bachelor of the Year finalist and social entrepreneur, has launched a range of vegan sexual health aids to plug a surprising gap in the market.
And the response so far has been hot and heavy, he said.
“A vegan condom doesn’t contain any animal products or byproducts and hasn’t had any of the components tested on animals,” Leonard explained.
“Some lubricants are also packed with parabens and other unfriendly ingredients. Parabens are commonly used in cosmetics as preservatives to prevent bacterial overgrowth but can interfere with our normal rhythmical, hormonal process by binding to the same cell receptors as estrogen.”
His range is plant-based, pH balanced and petrochemical and paraben free.
“They’re also flared at the end for better fit and comfort and our ultra thin condom is basically as thin as it can be and still pass international manufacturing standards.
“To our knowledge we are the only vegan sexual health brand for sale in major retailers across Australia.”
His company HERO is a social enterprise that works on a one-for-one basis — for every sexual health product sold here, one is sent to Africa.
Since its launch, more than half a million free condoms have been sent to the HIV/AIDS-ravaged continent.
He’s faced stiff competition from multi-billion dollar rivals to secure lucrative distribution deals with Coles and Woolworths.
Leonard is now in discussions with major retailers in the United Kingdom and China, with plans to launch in those markets later this year.
It’s not just his social enterprise that’s booming — the American expat’s love life is also in good shape, he reveals.
Following his Cleo Bachelor experience in 2015, Leonard joined Tiner and matched with Ravare, an aspiring actress and musician.
“I used my Cleo picture on my Tinder profile and it landed me the most amazing girl in the world,” he beamed.
“We’ve been dating for almost a year and I couldn’t be happier.”