Sustainability is just as important as stretching—especially when both human health and the health of the planet are at risk. That’s why we want to get down (dog) with sustainable yoga mats.
Most yoga mats are made of PVC, which poses (pun intended) a health risk to any asana advocate. It exposes you to carcinogenic dioxins and heavy metals, not to mention its heavy carbon footprint. We don’t know about you, but that makes us feel pretty anti-zen.
Hot yoga ✔️; Hot planet ❌
Stand tall and take a deep, grounding breath in because we’re on the hunt for the best eco-friendly yoga mats.
In order to find ones that fit the Buti bill, we’re working on employing our new Brand Rating System, which uses 22 criteria points to look at things like materials, biodiversity considerations, product circularity, performance, and much more. Learn about these selection points here and keep an eye on this space to see it rolled out for our favorite yoga mat makers.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Most Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats For Those (Eco) Warrior Poses
For artistic inspiration whilst doing your asanas, each stunning sustainable yoga mat from Scoria is naturally antimicrobial, thanks to the sustainably harvested cork yoga mat material. Our knees and sit bones are also very grateful for the cork’s cushiness.
Or practice your toxin-free tree pose on a non-stick eco-friendly yoga mat from Complete Unity Yoga. We found that their 4mm mat offered unrivaled grip both on the floor and on top.
Now get your ujjayi breath going, limber up in your favorite eco-friendly leggings, and let’s get down-dog to business.
Index: Sustainable Yoga Mat Brands
- Scoria Jump to brand
- Shakti Warrior Jump to brand
- Complete Unity Yoga ® Jump to brand
- Bean Products Jump to brand
- Mukha Yoga Jump to brand
- Yoga Design Lab Jump to brand
- Liforme Jump to brand
Scoria
About Scoria
Price Range: $89–$102
If you have your heart (chakra) set on a sustainable cork yoga mat, Canadian-based Scoria may just #SparkTheChildWithin. That’s because their mats are much more than just mats; they’re also works of art. Available in a selection of unique and beautiful designs and sizes—including eco-friendly kids yoga mats—you can pick the perfect vibe for your practice, whether it’s mushrooms or mountains.
Complete your practice tools with their range of sustainable yoga accessories, like cork blocks and our all-time-favorite yoga wheel.
Scoria’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Each eco-friendly cork yoga mat features a natural rubber grippy bottom and sustainably-harvested cork top, bonded together using heat and water-based eco adhesives. If you’re looking for something antimicrobial and sticky for your hot yoga practice, the natural properties of cork mean you don’t need to “fret the sweat”.
The beautiful designs are created using non-toxic water-based inks, resulting in REACH non-toxic certification.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The natural cork is sourced from Portugal and the natural rubber is from Vietnam. Assembly and manufacturing take place in China, and designs are finished in Canada. Partners are scrutinized to ensure that working conditions and wages are ethical, fair, and safe.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Cork is sustainably harvested from mature trees in Portugal every 9-12 years. The sustainable process allows the cork to regenerate and actually supports tree health. Everything comes in plastic-free packaging.
Community & charitable giving:
By partnering with organizations like Feeding Children Everywhere and Right To Play, Scoria helps children everywhere gain access to things like healthy meals and life skills learning.
My Personal Review of Scoria’s Myco Forest Cork Yoga Mat:
“I obviously love a good plant theme, so I went with the Blossom yoga mat and love stretching out atop the minimalist floral etchings. The natural cork makes this eco-friendly yoga mat super cushy, so even though it’s only the standard 4.5mm thick, I think it cushions the knees and sit bones far more than other mats of the same thickness. Plus, I love that it comes with a simple carrying strap. While I mostly do yoga at home, if I do opt to go out to a class, it’s a nice added feature.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Shakti Warrior
About Shakti Warrior
Price Range: $59–$109
Women-owned and operated brand Shakti Warrior puts the “goddess” in Goddess Pose. This mother-daughter-founded company offers everything from props, bags, and mats to eco-friendly water bottles for staying hydrated during your Bikram yoga class.
Whether you lean toward Buti bright or classic cat-cow cork with delicate drawings, these mats feature beautiful artwork printed in water-based inks to inspire your practice.
Mats like the Ajna Pro make for some of the best natural rubber yoga mats—and not just because they feature a stunning paint pattern that will surely activate your Ajna (forehead) chakra With hyper-portable, foldable 1mm mats and fully supportive 5mm mats, they offer something for everyone.
Shakti Warrior’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Shakti’s mostly biodegradable yoga mats all feature a natural rubber base for grip and cushioning. This tree rubber is either topped with hemp, cork, recycled PU leather, recycled plastic bottle microfiber suede, or a phthalate-free Eco PVC (which we’d recommend avoiding).
Most, however, are free of harmful phthalates, latex, toxic glue, silicone, PVC and chlorine
Supply chain & labor practices:
Yoga mat bags are manufactured through the Samarpan Foundation’s Institute of Learning, Culture, and Art, which provides socially disadvantaged women with tailoring skills training, high wages, and health care. They’ve yet to answer our queries where the mats themselves are manufactured.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
These eco yoga mats are produced in a way that releases no toxic emissions into the atmosphere. Be sure to recycle your old yoga mats if you want 10% off your new one. It’ll get transformed into eco-friendly flip-flops that are then distributed to communities in need.
Community & charitable giving:
Shakti Warrior is “committed to empowering women athletes” and places volunteer coaches in underfunded schools to provide children with sports opportunities. They also plant a tree for every mat sold.
Yoga teachers can join their Teacher Tribe for discounts.
Complete Unity Yoga ®
About Complete Unity Yoga
Price Range: $87–$99
For eco-friendly yoga mats in the UK (and USA—hooray for the local warehouse!), readers can stretch out on and become one with Complete Unity Yoga.
Their CompleteGrip™ yoga mat is a non-slip, durable, eco-friendly yoga mat that comes in two thicknesses: a standard 4mm thickness and a 2mm version, ideal for use as a sustainable travel yoga mat. You can relax and breathe deeply with their 100% money-back guarantee that these will be the most non-slip yoga mats you’ve tried.
In addition to ethical, sustainable quality yoga mats (we can’t emphasize that last one enough), they stock props like bolsters, blocks, blankets, bags, carrying straps, and meditation cushions.
Complete Unity Yoga’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
CompleteGrip™ Technology comprises sustainable jute fibers mixed with sustainably-harvested natural rubber for a yoga mat that doesn’t convert to a slippery-slide halfway into downward dog. If you’re looking for a BPA-free yoga mat that’s also plastic, PU, PE, and PVC-free, this is it.
Supply chain & labor practices:
We couldn’t find any manufacturing details for these jute and natural rubber yoga mats, so we’ll be contacting Complete Unity Yoga to find out.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The CompleteGrip™mats are made using a zero waste manufacturing process and are packaged plastic-free using FSC-certified craft paper.
Community & charitable giving:Complete Unity Yoga donates 5% of its net profit to Helping Hands for India, a charity providing free education to children in rural India.
My Personal Review of Complete Unity Yoga’s Non-Slip Yoga Mat:
“Complete Unity offers a 100% money-back guarantee that these will be the most non-slip yoga mats you’ve tried. I accepted that challenge with their 4mm mat, and Complete Unity won me over. The jute and natural rubber combo means it’s not only sticky on the bottom but provides utterly unmatched grip up top, no matter how sweaty I get.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Bean Products
About Bean Products
Price Range: $25–$260
Chicago is famous for its Bean so it’s only fitting this next brand hails from the Windy City. Bean Products makes environmentally sustainable yoga mats, props, and bags, everything you might need for your pro-planet yoga practice.
Not everything is plastic-free, but if you’re looking for a plastic-free yoga mat, check out the Natural Cotton Yoga, available with either a conventional cotton or organic cotton core and cover.
If your favorite yoga studio is your own lounge, they can help you pad that too, with organic pillows, eco-friendly dog beds, and other sustainable home goods.
Bean Products’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
We already talked about their organic cotton yoga mat, but we’re also hoping for the OMphibian mats, featuring a wet or dry grip (for hot yoga, of course) PU surface with a natural rubber core.
Other recyclable yoga mats are made of a phthalate-free, recyclable TPE, or a blend of natural and synthetic rubber. Bean Products does have a PVC mat that is SGS-tested as free of toxic phthalates, dioxins, furans, phenol, and heavy metals, but we always urge you to opt for PVC-free yoga mats.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Bean Products’ manufacturing is in the United States, which is also where some of the hemp used in their props is grown.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Bean takes pre-consumer furniture scraps and post-consumer recycled polystyrene to stuff their bean bag chairs. Be sure to opt in to their carbon-neutral shipping.
Community & charitable giving:
For every product made, Bean plants one tree through Trees for the Future. They also donate to The Hemp Foundation, which funds hemp fabric research and supports farming families in Uttarakhand, India.
Mukha Yoga
About Mukha Yoga
Price Range: $30–$190
We think the advice from this brand’s founder is pretty sound: Do Yoga, Save the Planet. Mukha Yoga is your one-stop shop for a variety of brands making natural and/or recycled yoga mats, sustainable yoga clothes, props, and accessories.
If you want to find and compare mats from the likes of Hugger Mugger, Jade Yoga (the mat we personally tried from Mukha), Alo, and more, this female-founded yoga e-emporium is the place to go.
Mukha Yoga’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Given the sheer number of mats from a variety of brands, you’ll find many different materials. Their best eco-friendly yoga mats are those by Bennd Yoga—like the Harda & Turmeric Ayurvedic Yoga Mat—made of ethically sourced raw cotton that is medicinally dyed and blended with herbal formulas.
Unfortunately, alongside plenty of eco yoga mat materials like natural rubber, cork, and natural jute, you will find a few mats that are made of PVC. Even though Mukha’s own Flow mat is made of SGS certified “Eco-PVC” we would still recommend sticking to one of their non-PVC yoga mat options.
You won’t find a recycled rubber yoga mat, but you will find natural rubber options with a microfiber top made of recycled plastic bottles.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Each sustainable yoga mat brand is handpicked for quality and ethics, but we’re not sure where Mukha’s in-house line is manufactured and will be reaching out to inquire.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Most partner brands are based on the West Coast, which helps keep their supply chain localized. While they already ship plastic-free, Mukha Yoga joins one of its brands, prAna, in the Responsible Packaging Movement’s mission to eliminate excess packaging waste from its supply chain.
Community & charitable giving:
Inner peace and enlightenment should be accessible to everyone, which is why they provide a huge range of free community resources, like guided meditations and yoga pose guides. Mukha also sponsors tree-planting campaigns.
My Personal Review of Jade Yoga’s Harmony Yoga Mat:
“Jade Yoga, which is just one brand Muhka Yoga sells, offers a HUGE range of mats from various materials and for various needs. I personally prefer their ultra-classic Harmony Mat for its simple design, ultra-grippy texture, and cushy 4.5mm thickness. It’s absolutely one of the stickiest and most durable mats I’ve ever tried. It’s used not only as a yoga mat in my house but as a workout mat for both my partner and me several days a week. Despite that heavy use, there are absolutely no signs or wear to the rubber on this mat. Whether for intense fitness or relaxing flow, we agree this mat is a winner!”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Yoga Design Lab
About Yoga Design Lab
Price Range: $49–$105
We’re down for that downward dog with a Yoga Design Lab’s recycled yoga mats. The brand was born out of a trip to Bali and a desire to turn unoriginal, mass-produced mats into something more mindful.
Love staying limber when you travel? The ultra-thin 1.5mm Combo sustainable travel yoga mat is made from natural rubber and recycled PET microfiber.
Yoga Design Lab’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
There are five materials in YDL’s large sustainable mat range: natural cork, tree rubber, PU, TPE, and recycled PET microfiber.
Their Combo Mat consists of a recycled plastic yoga mat top layer (made with ~19 plastic bottles) and a natural tree rubber base. Its prana-popping color comes from water-based inks. The eco-friendly cork yoga mat is made from biodegradable, antimicrobial natural cork, and natural rubber. The Infinity Mats are made from an open-cell PU and tree rubber, and the Flow Mats are made with a TPE recyclable yoga mat material
All of these Prop 65 and REACH-certified yoga mats are free of non-biodegradable silicone and phthalates.
Supply chain & labor practices:
YDL’s products are manufactured in China by BSCI-compliant factories that promote ethical working conditions.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
By using recycled PET, YDL has diverted over 861,000 plastic bottles, and is working on switching to more sustainable packaging.
Community & charitable giving:
The Dalai Lama believed, “If every 8-year-old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” That’s why $1 of every purchase goes towards supporting Urban Yoga Foundation’s programs.
Liforme
About Liforme
Price Range: $49–$155
XL mats, travel mats, yoga pads… Liforme has it all. Gorgeous mats like the Cosmic Moon Mat aren’t just printed in non-toxic inks, but feature an alignment system designed to work for all bodies and styles of practice.
Each one comes with a complimentary yoga mat bag.
Liforme’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Liforme’s unique yoga mats feature a natural rubber base and eco-polyurethane top surface. This patented three-layer construction features CleanGrip® Technology, which stops sweat making its way into the natural rubber base.
They’re PVC-free and the brand claims they’ll biodegrade in 1–5 years in normal landfill conditions.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a Certified B Corp, Liforme is audited for their social performance across their supply chain. That said, we would still like to know where their products are made and will be reaching out for details.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
By offsetting their shipping and planting additional trees (totaling over 300,000!), Liforme aims to keep their carbon footprint as small as possible. From factories to distribution warehouses, they ship 99% of goods by sea to reduce it further.
Community & charitable giving:
Liforme’s Live For More Foundation has given back more than $750,000 to various charity partners—like the World Wildlife Fund, GLAAD (an LGBTQ media advocacy organization), Yoga Gives Back, and more.
Donations are allocated by sales of certain collections. For example, 1% of all sales from the Mother Earth Mat are donated to support the work of Friends of the Earth and five trees are planted with Tree-nation.
Why Choose Non-Plastic Yoga Mats?
Conventionally, yoga mats are made of PVC and PU (AKA types of plastic). We get real close to our mats during practice (like in child’s pose) so it’s important to steer clear of any toxic materials—especially PVC.
Why is choosing a non-PVC yoga mat so important? PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is made from petroleum and chemicals like vinyl chloride, which is known to cause cancer. Combine this with heavy metals and phthalates (endocrine/hormone disruptors and known carcinogens) and you’ve got a pretty anti-zen recipe for most yoga mats.
If you’re temporarily stuck with a PVC pad, fear not: cover it with a sustainable towel to reduce contact.
Plus, PVC yoga mat aare not recyclable. There’s no safe way to recycle or destroy PVC, so that pretty purple PVC mat of yours will exist forever. Instead of throwing it away, try upcycling—outside your home of course, like as a non-slip underlay for your home’s welcome mat.
Great article! I was only familiar with Manduka from these five brands and buying an eco-friendly mat will definitely be something I’ll look at for my next purchase. One of the foundational principles in yoga is about non-harm – Ahimsa (https://elevatecalm.com/ahimsa/), which also involves not harming the environment. So I consider an eco-friendly yoga mat essential for every yogi!
Hi, if you are interested most of Yoloha’s mats are made with TPE, far away from this ECO sustainability and safety, here the link:
https://yolohayoga.com/inside-yoloha/about-cork-yoga-mats/
Good day
Great point, thanks Alejandro!
TPE is better than other materials, however. It will break down eventually and won’t off-gas harmful chemicals, like formaldehyde, like PVC mats will.