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Condom prices are rumoured to rise by 20–30% in coming months due to supply chain disruptions.
The production of condoms relies on numerous materials, including latex, polyurethane, polyisoprene, nitrile, aluminium foil and silicone oil. After they’re manufactured, condoms need to be shipped out.
Unfortunately, both ends of this process are being affected by the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
But condoms weren’t always this globalised or complicated.
The journey to latex
The oldest documented mention of a condom is around 3000 BCE in the legend of King Minos of Crete. He was cursed to have ‘serpents and scorpions’ in his semen, so his wife used a goat bladder as a form of physical barrier during intercourse.
In the real world, different cultures used a variety of materials such as linen, silk paper and lamb intestines to create a ‘sheath’ that covered the penis.
One of the most striking methods was the use of tortoise shells to cover the head of the penis, in Japan around the 15th century.
The concept of condoms being more than a physical contraceptive was first suggested by Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio.
In a book about syphilis, he suggested people use a linen sheath, secured with a ribbon, to reduce the contraction of syphilis between partners.
Prior to the rise of syphilis in 15th century Europe and Falloppio’s work, people were mostly concerned about avoiding pregnancy – not STIs.
The next development in condom design came at the end of the 19th century when Charles Goodyear made the first rubber condom.
These first iterations are said to have been almost as thick as the inner tube of bicycles.
In the 1920s, Merle Youngs – founder of Trojan condoms – created the first latex condom. The company spent the following years making the condoms thinner and stronger.
A new wave
When the HIV/AIDS epidemic swept the world in the 1980s, condoms became a crucial public health tool. The invention of the female condom in 1984 also came about to reduce the spread of HIV.
A decade later, the first polyurethane condoms (plastic) entered the market. This was a game changer for people with a latex allergy.
Until then, the only non-latex alternative was made of animal intestines. These didn’t protect against STIs due to the micropores found in the material.
Fast forward to 2026 and there are three main materials used to make condoms – latex, animal intestines and plastic.
But a new condom is about to enter its final round of clinical trials.
Professor Robert Gorkin and his team at the University of Wollongong have been working on the ‘Geldom’ since 2014.
Their idea is to make condoms out of hydrogel, which has the potential to be infused with antiviral agents. This could reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted viruses like HIV, herpes and HPV.
However, hydrogel condoms need to be approved by regulatory bodies like Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.
After all, condoms are considered a medical device. Even if they were once made out of tortoise shells.
