There are more than five billion condoms
sold worldwide each year. With this kind of mass production one would surmise
that the manufacturers have automated processes that take the hard labor and
guesswork out of equation. Each little corner of the world has its favorite
brand and material. The best known and respected brands are very transparent in
their manufacturing process. The lesser known brands and smaller sellers do not
promote their manufacturing techniques. The big guys are proud of what they
have achieved through the years.
While over five billion have been sold to
consumers, this does not include the numbers that are given to the
underprivileged in poor nations or any other charity endeavor. Plus it does not
include the ones that are donated to hand out to teens in their sex education
classes or those that are donated to Planned Parenthood organizations.
Ansell, makers of the popular Lifestyle
Condoms receive dozens of emails each year with eager men wanting to answer the
call to be condom testers. Alas, this is indeed one of those jobs where
technology has replaced a human in a job. All major manufacturers use machines
for many areas of testing so that government standards can be consistently met
without subjective input.
Ansel says in the U.S. the average age of a
condom buyer is 18 to 24 and 70% of condoms are purchased by men. Big name
brand makers have all sorts of information about their typical buyers and their
likes and dislikes. This is how they devise innovative new condoms. Smart companies
listen to their customers and then take action.
freestockimages.com
Ansel has several divisions around the
globe. From their internal marketing they have learned that European like their
pleasures a bit spicier with all the dots, studs and ribs. Brazilians lean
toward menthol and peppermint tastes. They say that the Chinese are the largest
user of their brand which is not surprising because of the child limit in the
country. The Brits come in second while the U.S. ranks a lowly sixth. Trojan may
be the reason for this number.
Black Market Sales hurt Consumers
Back in 2011 the Slate carried an article by journalist Brian Palmer that explained
a great deal about the manufacturing of condoms and the trials and
tribulations. “Asia is the center of the global condom network, both legitimate
and illegitimate. Thailand leads world output at 3 billion condoms per year,
exporting 12 percent of their capacity to the United States. (The U.S. no
longer produces condoms on a large scale. The last major factory, located in
Alabama, shut its doors after USAID stopped buying condoms for
international AIDS prevention from the company in 2009.) The top five
producing countries are all in Asia, with a combined annual total of 11.6
billion. Even Iran is getting into the act, with a state-funded factory
producing 45 million
condoms per year.”
Counterfeit condoms have become a serious problem in recent years,
particularly in China. In 2009, Chinese police busted a factory
that had produced more than 2 million cheap, possibly contaminated,
vegetable-oil-lubricated condoms and sold them in name-brand wrappers for a
total of $11,300. Some of the Chinese counterfeits showed up in the U.S. selling
under the Trojan name. One importer of phony Trojans
managed to sell
the fakes to unsuspecting wholesalers.
It's not surprising that a black market for condoms has sprung
up—the profit margin is pretty substantial. While it costs only 2 or 3 cents to
make a condom, they sell for an average
of $1.12 per unit in the United States, with some expensive designer
brands going for more than $4.
freestockimages.com
A condom is not something you want to skimp on, though. Upstanding
manufacturers put their products through a battery
of quality tests. They hang up test condoms and fill them with water and stretch
pieces of latex until they break. They conduct a "burst" test,
inflating the rubber like balloon to see how much pressure it can handle.
Manufacturers test every condom for pinholes by trying to pass an electrical
current through the rubber. They even toss a few samples in the oven for a week
to accelerate the aging process, and run the tests again. Some of the
counterfeit condoms couldn't even pass
the leak test right out of the package.
How
are Brand Name Condoms made?
Durex is one of the most popular condom brands and their
popularity lives and dies with the quality of their condoms. They are very
proud of their manufacturing process and are quite transparent. Most
individuals do not know the extent of the technology of making a single condom
from start to finish. This means securing the raw material and ending with the
necessary government testing and certifications.
They give you a step by step process. This is not so you can go
out and make your own condoms, but so you can see all the detail and planning
that goes into production.
1.‘Prevulcanize’
the rubber. This means adding all the chemicals and fillers that turn the
rubber into the necessary latex material. The ingredients are intended to make
the material stronger, more reliable and to eliminate a lot of the components
that may cause allergies or sensitivities.
freestockimages.com
2.Latex is poured
into huge, temperature controlled storage vats. A continuous line of glass
forms pass over the vats where they are dipped into the material. Obviously,
the glass forms are specially made to convert the latex to the size and shape
that is desired. Once the glass forms are coated, they are cooled and then go
back for a second dip in the pool.
3.After the
second dipping, the glass forms go through an oven to ‘vulcanize’ the material
where the chemical process is completed and the latex will have the required
strength and elasticity.
4.Now the condoms are removed from the formers,
washed to remove any water-soluble residues, and powdered using
pharmacologically safe materials.
5.Condoms have
to mature and this takes about 48 hours. Durex has its own Electronic Testing
Machine and each condom passes through ensuring it meets all standards. Once
they graduate, they go on to the packaging stage.
6.Packaging is
placing the individual condom into its foil. You may be surprised to learn that
it is in packaging stage where flavors and lubes are added. On a common sense
level this means that the flavored condom you are using is the same base condom
that is not flavored. This is the same base condom that carries normal lube and
extra lube.
7.Now the
square foils are heat sealed, stamped with a batch number and given an
expiration date. A sample of the packaged foil is then pulled for a second test
for leakage and other defects.
8.The Durex
website tells you about all the tests they perform – and why. For the educated
condom buyer, it could be why this is such a popular brand:
freestockimages.com
Electronic testing — Every condom is
checked for pinholes, defects and imperfections
Water leak testing — A sample of over
2,000,000 condoms per month are filled with water and suspended for a minute to
check for leaks
Air inflation test — A sample of about
500,000 condoms per month are given an air inflation test to check for
burst-strength and elasticity (International latex standard: 18 liters. Durex
minimum latex standard: 22 liters. Typically Durex condoms will expand to 40
liters)
If
the condoms fail on any of the tests, the entire batch — which can be up to
432,000 condoms — is discarded.
It's
these attentions to detail and stringent standards that have led to Durex being
frequently consulted by National and International regulatory bodies, health
ministries, hospitals, scientists and academics.
Trojan is Transparent as Well
freestockimages.com
Trojan manufactures around one million condoms per day. Their
process is almost identical to that of Durex. However they say that once the
condom has been double dipped it is washed in a solution that makes it smoother
and then filled with lube before it is packaged.
Condoms
are tested either by being filled with air or water, or by getting
stretched. Even after they’re packaged, some batches are randomly selected
for extra testing. This appears to be a quality control that has been employed
by all the large condom manufacturers.
Another
thing we learn is that when the latex and chemicals are mixed into the large
vats for vulcanization the process can take seven days. It is not an immediate
action. The storage time also allows air which may have been trapped in the
mixture during compounding to escape.
We also learn about the dipping machine and
how ingenious the inventor was. “The dipping machine is a long, hooded machine
approximately 100 feet (30.5 m) in length. Thick tempered glass rods move along
a closed belt between two circular gears. The belt drags the rods, which are
called mandrels, through a series of dips into the latex compound. The mandrels
rotate to spread the latex evenly. Several coats are required to build the
condom to its required thickness. Between each dip, the latex is hot air
dried.”
The efficiency of movement and energy is
maximized. After the final dipping and drying, the condoms automatically roll
off the mandrels. A machine shapes and trims the ring of latex at the base of
each condom. Next, the condoms are put in a tumbling
machine, where they are coated with talc or another similar powder to prevent
the rubber from sticking to themselves.
After a curing period of several days, the
condoms are sampled by batch and tested for leaks and strength. The first is
the inflation test, in which the condom is filled with air until it bursts.
Condoms are required to stretch beyond 1.5 cubic feet, about the size of a
watermelon, before bursting. This test is considered most important because the
elasticity of the condom keeps it from tearing during sex. It is almost
unbelievable that if a condom could stretch to cover a watermelon, it
definitely would not break if rolled on a larger penis.
In the water-leakage test, the condom is
filled with 10 ounces (300 ml) of water and inspected for pin-sized holes by
rolling it along blotter paper.
Condoms are also tested electronically. This
involves mounting each condom on a charged stainless steel mandrel. The mandrel
is passed over by a soft, conductive brush. If pin holes are present, a circuit
will be established with the mandrel, and the machine will automatically reject
the condom.
In the U.S, the FDA reviews U.S. company records and spot checks
batches for cracking, molding, drying, or sticking latex. The organization also
tests every lot of imported condoms. Upon sampling, lots will not pass
inspection if they reveal greater than 4% failure with respect to the above
dimensions, 2.5% failure with respect to tensile strength and elongation, and
0.4% failure due to leakage.
Kimono
Condoms
freedigitalphotos.net
Each brand has its own standards which make them popular among
their core customers. Kimono begins at the beginning with the source of their
rubber. They tell us “Natural latex comes from the rubber tree (Hevea
Brasiliensis). Special cells in the tree, called laticifers, produce latex, a
milky substance that drips from scores made on the tree. Rubber trees are cut
at night when humidity is high, so the flow lasts longer before the cut dries.
One rubber tree yields 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of latex each night before the cut
stops dripping. The latex is collected in the early morning.” So it could mean
that the Kimono production process takes from sunup to sundown.
Kimono is very strict about the latex it uses. Technicians test
and analyze the latex for quality and purity before it can be accepted into
production. No condom manufacturer will release their recipe for the additives
that go into the vat to make the latex have the properties they want. Kimono is
no different. If everyone had the formula for the secret sauce, imitations
could be easily made.
Even when the condoms are complete they are not yet
ready for shipping. Because safety is essential for every Kimono condom user,
before Kimono condoms are shipped, they must undergo a series of strength and
quality tests. Kimono condoms must not only meet all US and International
safety standards, but exceed them as well according to the company.
Additional non-regulatory tests that are performed are a condom
air burst test, condom water burst test, condom tensile test, condom aging
test, and condom water leakage test.
You can see that major manufacturers take their products seriously
and the testing even more so. Once a brand has a streak of problems with their
products it is very difficult to earn consumer trust again. The major condom
brands have been proactive and not only looking to their Research and
Development teams for new offerings, but depending on their Q&A departments
to ensure there are no surprises in the quality of products being shipped to
consumers.