Save water with a shared shower, avoid sex toys made of dangerous ingredients, and concoct your own homemade lubricants.

Maybe it's good for you, but is it good for the earth?

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—You’ve considered a plug-in hybrid, but what about a plug-in vibrator? Across the country, more and more people are paying attention to their environmental footprint and questioning the use of chemicals that can wreak havoc on our bodies. That interest in personal meets environmental health is starting to sneak into the bedroom, too. And with good reason. After all, sex is about as natural as you can get…why taint it with toxins?

If your grocery list is green, but you’re not quite sure how to introduce healthier/eco-options to your quest for pleasure, let our guide to greener foreplay bring a whole new meaning to safer sex. We talked to sex researcher-educator-columnist extraordinaire Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH, research scientist and associate director of The Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana State University, to find the best ways to spice up your sex life while keeping the health of your body and planet in mind.

Share a shower (or better yet, a bath). You just got back from a 4-mile run at the park, and your smelly body isn’t exactly a turn on. Hitting the tub together can change all of that. “Some people like to shower before sex, especially if they’ve just been exercising,” says Herbenick. “Showering or taking a bath together saves water, and it’s really fun. It feels different to have someone else wash your body, and it’s a great time for kissing and making out.” Just don’t make it a marathon, or you’ll defeat the water-saving advantage of a two-for-one washing. Clean and caress each other with unscented castile soap, or ones scented with 100 percent organic essential oils (like Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Pure-Castile Soap, All-One Hemp Peppermint), and then turn off the faucet and take it to the bedroom. Or the living room. Or the kitchen counter.

Mix it up. Instead of buying packaged, processed body paint or edible underwear that tastes like cardboard, not cherries, whip up a yummy potion and let your hungry partner eat it from your body. (Just remember, ladies should keep it away from their genitals—that can lead to yeast infections and other problems.) Herbenick suggests mixing confectionars’ sugar and water into a paste and adding a little finely ground lavender, often found in the bulk food section in natural food stores. If lavender’s not your thing, mix in a little vanilla for tasty body candy.