On toxic yoga mats

On toxic yoga mats

24 Mar 2008

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

I own a yoga studio and our mats are wearing out and in need of replacement. What's the best alternative for buying new mats? And if I do get new mats, what's the best option for disposing of the old ones: donate to one of the many organizations that provide yoga for people that can't afford the usual yoga studio rates? Or spare them the toxins and send the mats to the landfill, or my gosh are they possibly recyclable?

Help! I'm overwhelmed by uninformed choices.

Karen Lee
Breathing Time Yoga
Pawtucket, R.I.

Dearest Karen,

Yoga mats: they seem so soft and friendly, but they are another product for our list of Things That Contain Vinyl. Vinyl and phthalates. How I wish to never need spell phthalates again. Vinyl is toxic to the environment during production and disposal, through creation and release of dioxin -- among other issues, including that it is made from a nonrenewable resource. Phthalates are "plasticizers" often found in soft vinyl materials, which do leach out during a product's lifetime. Exposure to phthalates has been linked to negative reproductive health effects in both men and women. They cross through the placenta and can affect a fetus, so they are of particular concern to pregnant women. Pollution in People has a clear article about phthalate problems.

Looking for your soul mat?

Photo: iStockphoto

It would be good if you could afford to replace your current mat collection with new, ecologically preferable mats. I can't say for sure that you are poisoning yourself or your students, but we can say that yoga mats are probably one among many sources of phthalate exposure in your lives. Don't get down on yourself. I don't think there has been much alternative to the regular old mat until recently. Now I find many manufacturers offering PVC-free options, usually made of jute and rubber.

Here's what I suggest, based on some knowledge and some ignorance. Simply entering "eco yoga mat" or "yoga mat and environment" into a search engine will summon the wide array of available mats. Every eco-mat has its own personal consumer narrative, in which the manufacturer explains why you should care and pay the extra money to get the mat. Read the narrative and compile a list of those without PVC and/or plasticizers.

Ask Umbra continues below

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Here's where my ignorance comes in: can you, as a yoga business, ask each manufacturer to send you one mat at a discount as a sample? I figure, how can they expect you to purchase 30 expensive new mats that are unproven in performance? I bought one of the early eco-mats a few years ago and it shredded within months, covering the studio floor in green specks. I assume the manufacturer has improved upon that product's terrible performance, but maybe not. It would be fun to buy a variety of new mats and have your students thrash them about a bit. If you don't want to or can't buy a variety starter pack, maybe you have a yoga teacher message board you could poll for performance reviews?

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Your old mats are not recyclable. They are reusable, but you outline a clear dilemma. Should you pass on free mats to people who will then be exposed to the phthalates, or should you hasten the vinyl's trip to the landfill/incinerator and release the next batch of dioxin? How about this: Find your new eco-mats. Throw out the old PVC mats. Explain to your students what you have done and why, and ask them to join you in a small fundraiser to buy eco-mats for the nearby place that provides cheap yoga.

Ahimsaly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (18 comments)

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Yoga Mats!

I have spreading the word about this for years! And testing "greener" yoga mat choices... In my opinion, the new EKO Manduka mat has them all beat. My first eco-yoga mat had jute embedded in the top and foamy rubber underneath- it shredded rapidly, especially with the yoga I do and teach, which is ashtanga. I tried a natural woven grass with rubber backing- didn't work for ashtanga but was ok for more "gentle" yoga. For awhile there was a mat called the "Naked Mat," which was cotton with a rubber backing- got one, didn't like it (I think it is not made anymore)but keep it handy for the classes I teach in case someone needs a mat. I have also had several Harmony mats- they are ok, have a polyester webbing inside the rubber, but the process making them sounds slightly suspect to me- although the company was great about emailing me answers to my questions about content and production of the mats- and they only lasted about a year each. Then Manduka came out with the EKO! These are natural rubber. I love them- I have two now- one that is thicker but is very heavy and the thinner version for traveling. Both are great- good traction, easy to wipe down, thick enough for comfort in headstands, etc. even on wood or marble (the studio I go to in India) floors. My mats are holding up very very well to hard use- at least 2 hours daily, 6 days a week.
I worry about yoga studios using the vinyl mats- often you see the floors covered with those little shreds and pills from these, and we are inhaling these! Yikes! No thanks!
Karen (environmental educator/environmental health nurse, and grateful ashtangi)

An ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. -Vivekananda

by karenc at 10:45 AM on 24 Mar 2008

PS

Oh... I forgot to say that I am not crazy about some mats that are called "green" or "eco" but are made from TPE and similar materials- just another version, albeit somewhat healthier, version of plastic and I am against it!

An ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. -Vivekananda

by karenc at 10:47 AM on 24 Mar 2008

yoga mat reuses - padding

Avoid the landfill!
Here are some yoga mat reuses:
-carpet padding
-machine/stereo vibration/sound padding
-moving pads
-pet bed padding
-furniture leg padding
-headboard padding

carolyn kay
"save what's left"

by carolynkay at 11:59 AM on 24 Mar 2008

non skid garage

My garage floor is very slippery when wet. I find that my old yoga mat makes a good non-skid surface between the door of the garage and the door of my car. Given it's composition, it will probably outlast my garage.

Yundah

by yundah at 12:51 PM on 24 Mar 2008

PVC yoga mats

Fine, if you don;t like them, toss 'em but please don't keep repeating that same stupid and incorrect bullshit the creeps from greenpeace, et. al. have been spreading like manure for nearly 20 years.

Lucidly perhaps, Johnny

by johnnylucid at 12:52 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Editing my post

I missed an errant apostrophe. Arghh. My apologies.

Yundah

by yundah at 12:53 PM on 24 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

Rubber Mats

What about the issue with latex allergies? Those come from constant exposure to rubber products, which I learned after I developed the allergy. Would this affect a studio's insurance or make them or the manufacturers liable if someone becomes ill over time using the mats?

by EcoMum at 1:40 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Toxic Yoga Mats

Here's a great resource for greening your yoga studio, including reviews of eco mats.

http://www.greenyoga.org/resources.html

by etain369 at 4:57 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Johnny's non-lucid comment

What was the gist of this comment? That phthalates are not toxic? That Greenpeace lies to the world about phthalates? I have yet to see anybody from Greenpeace discuss vinyl or phthalates. Is Johnny Lucid a yoga student?

Chad

Best Regards, Chad Henry

by gregcat at 5:04 PM on 24 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

Zipped up sleeping bags

Or folded cotton blankets work very well. I used them for years to do Yoga on, before Yoga was so popular and mats were not available. One of the nice things is they can be washed in your washing machine.

Ya make do with what you have sometimes.

by splashy at 5:20 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Oh, I should mention

That the best sleeping bags are those with the cotton outside, not the nylon.

Well, unless you put a sheet or cotton blanket, or some other natural fiber blanket over them.

by splashy at 5:23 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Or try sharing one big mat!!

Hey, I hope Karen gets this.

I practice at an amazing studio in Seattle called Yogi Way where the whole floor is one big mat! It's PVC-free long lasting and totally hygienic. Please check out this FAQ on the website. http://www.yogiway.com/about-us/unique-floor.shtml

This not only is a chemically safer and greener solution (it's purple, actually) it also provides cushioning for armbalances and headstand, and allows us to practice in all 4 directions instead of just in one limited area.

I hope you pursue this option because it's fantastic.

-kendra

p.s. My mom is from Pawtucket, and I grew up in Providence and can't BELIEVE that there's now yoga in Pawtucket. Must be time to come back. ;)

by kwok at 10:49 PM on 24 Mar 2008

Um, dah...

With these posts, I am wondering what the function of the vinyl/sticky mat is...Wai Lana, (TV yoga show) uses a neat Hawaii-type quilt. I use a nice older-than-dirt woven blanket. Why not use thick cotton, like those neat soft, smooth but durable, foldable woven "native-American"-kind blankets/rugs?. I have a back-of-the-head query lurking -- what is the stickiness supposed to help? Seems that to control/gauge our stretch and our balance, that out-reached foot or hand,.... we only should have a "natural" dimension to our work/relaxation.... but maybe I'm missing something. Never did like those 'creepy' feeling mats, and now I'm learning why. One thing I wish I could solve is the barefootedness -- I love going barefoot, but winter in Wisconsin, w/ keeping the temp lower at nite, begs for socks-warmed toes when we pop out of bed -- since I like to do yoga in early a.m., I start out with socks, but have to shed them to get the grip and grasp. Maybe I'll try cutting out sections ha. Bikini socks. Ah, spring is here: who cares?

by writewoodz at 10:28 AM on 25 Mar 2008

Donate to local animal shelter

check with your local animal shelter to see if they can use your old mats as padding for the animals.

by ally333 at 8:13 AM on 26 Mar 2008

yoga room mat/floor!

Thanks for the link, Kendra! You are lucky to be part of a studio that would do this, I think. I don't have my own studio but taught recently at the university's weight room, which had a rubber floor and it was great for yoga (althought the posters up about methycillin-resistent staph infections were definitely a buzz-killer!). And those who questioned why not just use cotton have a point but it slips and rips too much with more vinyasa type yoga such as ashtanga. And having done ashtanga on marble floors in India, which get very slick with sweat, you need something to prevent falls.... which is where the rubber or other "sticky" type mats are necessary. Believe me, I know the "make do with what you have" mindset: right now I practice and teach in the community room(carpeted) of the local Y's thrift store. Mats also prevent slippage on carpet and wood floors- I don't want any broken tailbones!
However, my opinion is that any yoga, anywhere, anytime, on the mat and off the mat, is good! And ultimately: It's all yoga....
Namaste, Karen Cairns

An ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. -Vivekananda

by karenc at 1:07 PM on 26 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

from the other side of the Atlantic

Another great resource can be found here:
http://www.yogamatters.com/acatalog/20_ways_reuse_mats.pd ... ("20 ways to re-use your mat".)

The site should be also of interest to any environmentally-conscious yoga practitioner!

by ecolo at 1:44 AM on 29 Mar 2008

Yoga Mats

A friend of mine e-mailed the Grstmill link regarding the yoga mats and at first I was at a complete loss. Being a full time yoga teacher and one who considers themself environmentally aware I was so bummed that when it came to environmentally friendly mats I was at a loss. Then, this past week the Sports Club/LA in Boston where I teach replaced all the yoga mats with lululemon mats. They are made out of an environmentally green material called TPE (thermal plastic elastoner). They contain no latex, no PVC, no rubber or toxic chemicals during production. According to lululemon it breaks down in landfills due to its cellular composition. I've only used them for a week but it's a sturdy composition with subtle alignment lines which always helps. Like all new mats they are a little slippery but that will change with a little use. I like them!

by JMCappello at 4:54 AM on 05 Apr 2008

poor puppies...

Why, if you don't want these chemicals attacking you, would you want to give them to your pets???

by redambrosia99 at 11:12 AM on 06 May 2008

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