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Discreet packaging

Discreet packaging is a British term that is used by the sex industry to describe the plain packaging that used to send items such as erotic underwear and sex toys by the postal service or by courier. The idea is that customers can purchase items in an innocuous way without the embarrassment of the cultural taboo of purchasing them in public.

Historically, when purchasing pornography in sex shops or similar estabuilments, items when sold were wrapped up in a plain brown paper bag to not make it obvious that it was pornography and avoid accidently revealing it in public. In fact, the term became a euphemism for pornography. With the advent of online shopping it made it possible to easily purchase adult items in mail discreetly, however to avoid the embarrassment, measures are put in to protect customers and encourage repeat purchasing.

Methods
Usually items are put in a plain mail tuff bag, plain padded envelope or plain brown cardboard box, with just simply an address label with the necessary details like the customer’s name and address. To prevent accidentally revealing the company’s details and thus the nature of the business, companies use innocuous company names in their returned addresses. Examples include Gold Group House for Ann Summers and Libertybelle UK LTD for the gay sex shop Clonezone, while Lovehoney doesn’t use a company name in return address.