Very early in my business career, I learned not to combine business with politics or religion. This was a fundamental principle that just made sense. For much of my career, that was easy. However, it has become increasingly difficult not to involve politics in business.
I entered the adult industry in 1990 and became vice president of Michigan-based distributor Nalpac. I knew the original owner well and was hired to rebrand and rebuild the company. Nalpac was a major “smoking company” that sold rolling papers, pipes, clamps, bongs, and other counterculture gifts and novelties. Distributors Nalpac and Eldorado, together with manufacturer Pipedream, were among the leaders in this field.
By using our collective voice, we can work to protect our industry from potential threats posed by moralistic-conservative political agendas and the culture war.
I was very familiar with the smoking industry, having educated myself by manufacturing pipes and clips for a Nalpac competitor. This was an extremely lucrative business in the 1970s and 1980s. However, by the end of the 1980s, a very conservative political movement was sweeping the country. Distributors and manufacturers were busted by state and federal authorities for selling “drug paraphernalia.” In the case of Nalpac, the FBI seized more than $500,000 worth of stock, which was eventually destroyed, and the original owner was indicted and ultimately convicted on federal charges. Nalpac and other companies were put on life support.
This was my first exposure to how our government could arbitrarily wreak havoc on an entire industry, its owners and workers, all because of a distorted sense of morality. It was a very dark time.
Fast forward to the present. The pleasure products and sexual wellness industry is thriving and growing, with great people and creative entrepreneurs. We provide great service, choices and empowerment to our customers. Furthermore, we have grown into a highly advanced industry that puts healthy ingredients, high-quality materials and well-being at the forefront. Our industry continues to grow and move inexorably into the mainstream on a seemingly unstoppable trajectory. This is something we can and should be very proud of.
Unfortunately, we could also be next in the government’s sights.
In certain municipalities and areas of our country, retailers have been fighting arbitrary and unfair rules and restrictions for years. Now, with a heavily right-leaning Supreme Court and mainstream politicians disenfranchising women and making voting more difficult for minorities and the poor, how hard is it to imagine a day when they decide that our profane and pornographic industries need to be cracked down on ? regulated – or even made illegal?
This may sound like bluster and exaggeration, but it is not. Just ask those who survived the smoking industry’s crackdown in the late ’80s.
Think about it. A woman’s right to make her own decisions regarding abortion, reproductive rights, and health care choices enjoys tremendous majority support in this country, and yet those rights are undermined by minority opinion and control. The same can happen to our sector. We cannot count on the courts, legislatures, or other institutions to protect us.
How do we ensure that this does not happen?
First things first: vote! Not just for the president, but for Congress, state legislators, secretaries of state, the dog catcher and everything in between. Know what your representatives stand for – and if they don’t represent your views, vote them out of office. Work to put like-minded people in positions of power.
Tell your friends and family and become active in the process. Donate money or time if you can. Participate in grassroots advocacy when possible. We can all help educate the public about protecting the pleasure and sexual wellness industry – and their own rights as consumers and citizens. Support groups that protect these rights, such as the Free Speech Coalition.
By using our collective voice, we can work to protect our industry from potential threats posed by moralistic-conservative political agendas and the culture war. Our democracy thrives when every voice is heard and every vote is counted. Let’s secure the future of our industry by actively participating in the democratic process. Our industry, and American democracy itself, could be at stake.
Ken Sahn is the president of Holiday Products, a distributor of pleasure products.