Scarcity Fighters: Used condoms were traded in Vietnam

Irina Ziganshina

According to The Guardian, Vietnamese state television (VTV) aired a story about police seizing dozens of large bags of used condoms.

The contraception was found in a warehouse in the southern province of Binh Duong, where it was supposed to be sent for sale. The total weight of the bags was over 360 kg, which was estimated by the police as 345,000 condoms. According to the tenant, sacks with these goods came to them monthly from an unknown person.

A woman detained during the operation told police that the used condoms were first boiled in water, then dried, stretched over a wooden phallus to shape, and then repackaged and resold. For every kilogram of condoms she processed, the woman received $ 0.17. How many recycled condoms have already been sold at the time of seizure is unclear.

The shortage of contraceptives is a big problem not only in Vietnam, which is flooded with counterfeits, but in the world in general. According to a 2014 United Nations Population Fund report, about 40% of all condoms sold globally do not meet quality criteria, which puts people at risk of infection and unwanted pregnancies.