In tough times, even stuffed animals join the sex trade

A toy factory in the Russian Urals region has found its own spicy recipe for coping with the financial crisis. Instead of making teddy bears for children, they are now producing toys for sex shops.

The Chelyabinsk factory still produces stuffed animals – just with extra details. Ahead of 2010, the Chinese year of the tiger, a soft striped cat with a penis is one of the bestsellers. Big boob pillows are also popular among grown-up children.

Russian NTV channel reports that according to recent marketing research, the demand for traditional children’s toys has dropped. At the same time, the study revealed, spending on erotic goods has not decreased at all.

Producers are striving for survival in times of crisis, but the Chelyabinsk enterprise has found a perfect solution to the problem. It restructured its business. In fact, no costly changes were required since the same materials are used for toys with their new (though not nearly as innocent) look.

“The market reciprocated the move”, Konstantin Korostelyov, the head of the project, told NTV. “The demand for these kinds of goods is very high, especially since we are the only company in Russia that makes erotic toys.”

Both buyers and sellers met the new idea with excitement. However, the toys are only sold in sex shops and to those above 18.

The factory employees are not complaining about the changes either. Both overall production and their salaries are rising.