AMSTERDAM (AP) — Worries about the environment and concerns about animal welfare are on the rise, and on World Vegan Day, some are looking for alternatives not just at the dining table but also in the bedroom.
In the Netherlands, entrepreneur Lieke Warmoeskerken says that she has to educate people that condoms, lubricants, and even vibrators might contain animal products.
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Simulating and Delay Gel are shown Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Natural massage candle is shown in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
A bottle of Natural Lubricant is displayed in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Lieke Warmoeskerken, founder of Lielei, works on her webshop, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
A bottle of Natural Lubricant is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
“You think about what you put in your mouth, so why don’t you think about what you’ve put on your body?” she told The Associated Press.
Warmoeskerken’s company LieLei, based in the port city of Rotterdam, focuses on erotic products that are vegan, as well as better for the environment and ethically produced.
The latex in condoms can sometimes be softened using a milk protein. While silicone, which is used to make many sex toys like vibrators and dildos, is vegan, glues and dyes used in sex toys may contain animal products.
“For a lot of people it’s getting more and more important to buy something that is sustainable or is vegan,” Warmoeskerken said.
A recent study by Wageningen University shows that meat consumption in the country has declined for the second year in a row.
Wanting something safe and natural for her body, entrepreneur Simone Kuijer used coconut oil as a lubricant until she learned it could interfere with the body’s pH balance and damage latex condoms.
“I thought, this is not good. I need to come up with an alternative that is 100% natural,” the 30-year-old told the AP.
Her sexual wellness brand Aia was born. It's entirely vegan, sustainably sourced and manufactured just an hour away from the company’s headquarters in Amsterdam. Kuijer’s products include lubricant made with a plant-derived glycerin rather than one from animal tallow and a massage oil candle made without using beeswax.
For vegans like Stephanie Heerema, these new companies have been an important part of a move to an increasingly animal-free lifestyle. The 28-year-old became a vegetarian at the age of 10, stopped eating animal products entirely while she was at university and, as global temperatures continue to rise, is trying to find more ways to live sustainably.
“It bothers me that there is lactose in my birth control,” she told the AP from her home in Amsterdam. Many medications contain the milk derivative, which is used as a binding agent in pills. Heerema buys vegan lubricant and condoms, and did her research when recently buying a vibrator to make sure it was vegan and only used recycled plastic on internal components.
Microplastics are also a concern for the entrepreneurs. Warmoeskerken's shop avoids plastic whenever possible and discloses which alternatives, like vegan leather harnesses, do contain plastic.
Kuijer, who is pregnant and worried about recent stories about microplastics in breast milk, tries to avoid plastic as much as possible. Her products come in glass jars and she recently launched a glass adult toy line.
“It doesn’t solve the whole problem, but it’s definitely a step towards it,” she said.
Simulating and Delay Gel are shown Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Natural massage candle is shown in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
A bottle of Natural Lubricant is displayed in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Lieke Warmoeskerken, founder of Lielei, works on her webshop, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
A bottle of Natural Lubricant is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Lucía Pintos is training to become a teacher in Borro, a Uruguayan neighborhood hit hard by the spread of drug trafficking, where a parish that will welcome Pope Leo XIV in a few days serves as a fragile but much-needed refuge from violence.
“It’s a painful reality, because the children have to go to school to have lunch or an afternoon snack,” the 21-year-old Pintos said. “You can’t let your child go out to play or do the shopping because there’s gunfire.”
Leo will visit the neighborhood on the north side of Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, at the start of his Nov. 6-17 tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, which he confirmed despite his recent cancer diagnosis. The pontiff will visit the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which builds homes, promotes job creation and supports addicts in their recovery.
Neighborhoods like Borro live with the sound of gunfire and territorial disputes between drug dealers. Concerns about violence have led the government to begin patrols with armored vehicles, which were originally donated by the United States for U.N. peacekeeping missions.
“Families know that at a certain time they have to go inside,” said Rev. Pablo Coimbra, the head of the Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. “When the shootings start, they throw themselves to the ground, because a stray bullet can hit anyone. It’s bursts of machine-gun fire, and the bullets land wherever they land.”
The Archbishop of Montevideo, Daniel Sturla, said that there is no other place in the South American country with such a strong Catholic presence as Borro. A day after receiving a Vatican delegation in preparation for Leo’s visit, he toured the neighborhood with The Associated Press.
According to an official count, of the 98 homicides registered up to September in Montevideo — 13.5% more than in the same period last year — more than 46% occurred in Borro and surrounding neighborhoods. Uruguay still has a low homicide rate for the region, with about 10 homicides per 100,000 people last year.
In October 2025, Interior Minister Carlos Negro said that Uruguay had “epidemic homicide rates” and vowed to reduce them.
As the dirt roads descend toward a stream adjacent to Borro, mud becomes omnipresent. It often seeps into nearby houses.
That landscape is now cut by a concrete road prepared for the papal visit. The narrow streets converge on a soccer field restored by the parish, where Lautaro Martínez, a promising young player, practices. However, training has been suspended these days as a precaution following recent shootings.
In this context, the church has become a refuge. Neighbors bring the wounded there because ambulances will only go as far as the church. Coimbra said that gangs used to expel families at gunpoint to set up drug dens, forcing them to seek refuge in the parish.
To combat crime, the parish is leading social housing projects in which residents are building more than 100 units with sanitation systems — an effort that in turn generates local employment.
“The presence of the church makes the difference between drug use and nonuse, between continuing to study and not,” the priest said.
Many young people seeking to leave a life of crime find solace in faith. On Mondays, the parish celebrates a Mass for homeless people, drawing dozens from all over the city.
“They come for the bathroom and two meals, but mainly to be heard,” Coimbra said.
When Holy Communion is given, most remain with their arms crossed over their chests, a sign indicating they haven't been baptized. According to data from the Catholic Church, in 2025 only 2,200 of the 30,000 newborns in Uruguay were baptized.
Pablo Acosta, 28, was born in the neighborhood and got mixed up in crime. Today he spends his days between shelters and the streets, works informally in local markets, and sends money to his 10-year-old son, whom he doesn’t see because of his addictions.
“I have a gunshot wound in my stomach and stab wounds. I owed money, I was involved where I shouldn’t have been, but for the past month I’ve been trying to quit using drugs,” he said.
Extending a hand to those who have strayed down dark paths and preventing youth from taking that road, Coimbra said, is the church’s task.
“They have no other opportunities, no club, no English classes, no rugby, and in some cases, barely any soccer,” Coimbra said. “So there is a lot of idleness, and that’s where we need to intervene.”
Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
A family gathers in the Borro neighborhood in Montevideo, Uruguay, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. ahead of Pope Leo XIV's scheduled visit in November. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
A person sits on a bench as Father Pablo Coimbra walks past on his way to celebrate a weekly Mass for the homeless organized by Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit in November, in the Borro neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
An aerial view of the Borro neighborhood in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's scheduled visit in November. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Teacher trainee Lucia Pintos, center back left, attends a Mass honoring Mother Teresa at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the Borro neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's scheduled visit to the parish in November. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Father Pablo Coimbra blesses a person with crossed arms during a weekly Mass for the homeless at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit in November, in the Borro neighborhood of Montevideo, Uruguay, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
