HILLSBOROUGH, NC — The greening of the sex industry, much like the greening of the gaming industry, is a topic that doesn't get a lot of attention, no doubt due in equal parts to a general prudishness about all things sex as well as a lack of activity within the industry.

That said, when we have gotten a heads-up on how adult-oriented companies are going green, we've been more than happy to shine a light on their efforts. In the past, that has meant covering recycled sex toys and a green certified sex-toy company. Actually, both of those stories cover Dreamscapes, a Florida-based retailer of adult entertainment items.

But today, we get a look behind the curtain of what another big name in sex is doing to go green.

North Carolina-based retailer Adam & Eve (that link is as safe for work as any link to that site can be...) today is touting its greening efforts -- and they're shockingly vanilla.

There's no park benches to be made from recycled sex toys, according to its announcement (again, as SFW as possible), but rather your everyday tried-and-true greening practices:

Headed up by Adam & Eve employee Mary Ellen Reiley, the GAIA (Green Apples Increasing Awareness) efforts have replaced the company's Styrofoam cups with recyclable paper cups, reduced use of electric lighting, and replaced computer monitors with more energy efficient models.

All of the outdated computers and electronics are recycled through Synergy Inc., which breaks them down into aluminum, steel, precious metals, etc., and funnels the material back into the commodity markets. The company also encourages employees to recycle by giving them the opportunity to bring in their electronics from home.

"Adam & Eve employees appreciate that it is possible for them to bring in their personal items for recycling. If it has a battery or a cord, we take it," says Reiley.

(I guess that means maybe the company is recycling sex toys, but they're less than explicit about it....)

Adam & Eve is also recycling their plastic, aluminum, glass and paper, which has resulted in 40,000 pounds of paper being recycled instead of landfilled, and 7,000 glass jars being donated to schools for craft purposes rather than landfilled or recycled.

All told, these are baby steps to green, especially compared to some of the more audacious efforts we've covered in the past. But consider Adam & Eve as representative of what is likely the vast majority of companies in the U.S. and around the world that have yet to really undertake any serious environmental efforts -- in this case, any progress is good.

And time and time again we see that once companies get a taste of how easy and potentially rewarding green efforts can be, they quickly ramp up their efforts and start making real strides.

_{Photo CC-licensed by Flickr user SuicideGirls.}